


A Different Path

by TwinCarcino



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: AU, Drama, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-21 16:03:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 76,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3698411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwinCarcino/pseuds/TwinCarcino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Homura was just trying to ho home after her first day at school when a blue haired classmate offered to help her find a safer route. What changes when she doesn't bear witness to the existence of magical girls and witches on that day? A lot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Don't Go That Way

It was a sunny day out in Mitakihara, the midday sun shining high above in a near cloudless and beautiful blue sky. Birds sat in trees or perched on building edges, and chirped their spring time song. A light breeze would flow through the air helping to cool down any person out in the warm outdoors. It truly was the picture definition of a beautiful day.

Beautiful enough that it only added to the despair those trapped in school felt as they waited for the agonizingly slow clock to move. There was still several more hours until they would be set free to take advantage of the day while the sun was still up, but several students acted as though focused glares at the clock would speed it up.

One paticular student just let out a groan as she slouched over in her seat, forehead hitting the desk with a dull ' _thunk_ '. Blue eyes cracked open to stare at the pinked hair girl standing next to her.

"Madoka, you're too cruel," Sayaka complained, lifting her head just enough to face her friend. Was she being overdramatic? Yes, she was. Was she aware of it? Again, yes, she was. "How can you abandon your poor frail wife to be all by her lonesome tonight?"

Madoka gave her an apologetic look, hands wringing against each other as she looked at her distress, "I'm sorry, Sayaka, but I already promised Mami I would help her tonight."

Propping herself up onto her arms, Sayaka frowned, not wanting to upset her friend anymore than she was starting too, "Fine, fine," she mumbled almost reluctantly, pouting a little just to be childish, "But since when were you friends with an upperclassmen?"

"We just met a while ago," Madoka explained giving a sheepish laugh, it had been quite a meeting and she did not think Sayaka would believe her even if she told her longtime friend, "But I'm really sorry, I'll make it up to you, promise!"

Waving her off, the blue haired eighth grader assured her that it was okay, along with the order of introducing her to the upperclassman one of these days. She could go visit Kyosuke in the hospital after school so it wasn't as though she was going to have nothing to do without her best friend there. She wouldn't know however, that the events Madoka would do with this Mami were witch hunting, the girl would be let unaware of the dangerous life that her best friend lived.

There was still a few minutes before class would resume and lunch would end, and a few students were already trickling. One in particular caught Sayaka's eye as she stepped in and tried to get to the back of the room unnoticed by the few in the classroom already. It was the new transfer student that had joined their class this morning, Homura Akemi.

Sayaka didn't particular know the girl, all she knew was the same as the rest of the class; that she had been in the hospital prior to joining them due to a heart condition. Though her shyness was obvious enough, she nearly cried from the stress and embarrassment earlier when asked to solve a rather difficult math question in front of the class. Though Madoka seemed to think she was a nice enough girl after she returned from taking her to the nurse's office.

She basically had to rescue the poor girl from the students surrounding her, and Sayaka wondered if any of them had even realized how much the transfer student hadn't wanted the attention they gave to her.

Apart from that, Sayaka didn't pay much mind to her, and before long the rest of the students came into the class. All rather eager to get in their seats before Saotome entered and dished out detentions for being late. Last to enter was their teacher and lessons started without much wait for the others. Sayaka had to stifle a groan as she dived right into it, taking out her notebook and starting the futile struggle to keep up with the teacher and write down her notes.

* * *

Homura made her way down from the school with her head hung low and gaze fixed to the ground as she passed a few other students here and there. She just couldn't bring herself to meet any of their gazes, let alone to look at them. All the girl wanted was to sink into the ground and disappear.

For so long she'd been so excited to go back to school after being in the hospital for six months straight, she'd been rather eager to be able to reenter school. With her parents out of the country, she'd been left to do the paperwork herself and the pride she had felt had been unimaginable. She felt as though she was taking control of her own life by doing that task, and the thought of going to school? While being around so many new faces had scared her, she felt like this was her chance to be  _normal_.

But then she stepped into the classroom, and had felt all eyes on her. Homura couldn't bring herself to look at any of them, her voice had left her and so had any of the fake confidence she had felt.

The only good thing that Homura could think that had happened to her was talking to Madoka on the way to the nurse's office. The nurse's assistant had brought a small smile to her face by commenting on how Homura's name was cool, telling her to live up to it.

There was no way that Homura could do such a task though. She couldn't become as cool as Madoka saw her name to be, and any attempts would just let the girl down and make her realize Homura wasn't worth the time. It was just another reason why she was a failure.

With the day over and time to return to her empty home, Homura could hear the whispers in her mind. A sirens call repeating to her all the insecurities she had, all the painful truths about her as it offered to her a blissful end. A gateway to leave a world that had no need for someone like herself. It sounded so very nice. It was right, maybe she should just-

"Hey! Transfer student!"

The voice called out through the air, breaking the silence and snapping Homura out of her reverie. What had she just been thinking of? Homura couldn't quite recall, it was now a memory just outside of her mental reach.

Turning around however, she was met with a blue haired classmate jogging to catch up with her.

"H-Hello, um…" Homura started but trailed off as she struggled to connect a name to the face before her.

"Miki Sayaka, we're in the same class," the girl offered helpfully.

With an embarrassed nod, Homura pushed her red glasses up a bit and ducked down to look at the ground, "R-right, sorry."

"It's fine," Sayaka said with a smile, waving it off as nothing, "It's your first day, you've got a lot of names you've have to memorize. Not going to blame you for not having them all down in such a short time." As Homura gave another shy nod to that, Sayaka pointed down the way she had just been heading, "Anyways, you don't want to go that way. A lot of bad things have been happening there, a lot of deaths. It's not really safe."

"But it's the only way home I know."

Her attempt to argue was brushed off as Sayaka shook her head, heaving her bag over her shoulder, "I can help you find a different way home, so long as you don't mind a little a detour?"

Not able to find it in her to decline her classmates offer, Homura gave a weak nod for the third time, "Not at all." At her agreement, Sayaka gave her a smile and began unknowingly leading her away from what would have been a fateful meeting with Madoka and Mami in the Witchs Labyrinth.

The walk had taken a little longer than they had originally estimated, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Homura gave Sayaka her address, and the bluenette ran it through a mental map of the city. The path she steered Homura from was the fastest and most direct path from the school to her home that much was sure. And as she considered the size of the 'Danger Zone' as she dubbed that particular area, she decided that it would be a little more than a small detour.

Though if Homura had any objections to it, she didn't speak any.

The air was filled with idle chit-chat, mostly one-sided on Sayaka's part as she found it rather difficult to get the transfer student to speak. If she did respond, it was usually a yes or no answer spoken with a quiet voice. If Sayaka managed to get her to say something other than that, the words Homura used in answer could be counted on one hand.

Sayaka could tell though that the lack of participation in a conversation wasn't out of any sort of spite, she knew social anxiety when she saw it.

The sun had already begun setting by the time the managed to find the shortest and safest route to Homura's home. A task like that would have likely been completed sooner, but the pair had stopped multiple times to rest whenever Homura got rather out of breath. But they had made it to her home and the mission was completed.

Now, standing awkwardly in the doorway of her home, hands gripping the wood of the door tightly, Homura looked about uncertainly before clearing her throat. "T-thank you, for your help in finding me a new way home," she said and almost looked pained as she continued talking, "D-do you want to come in for a drink?" She didn't really  _want_ to invite Sayaka in, but it would have felt impolite not to, and she didn't want to insult her classmate who took the time to bring her here.

With a smile, Sayaka shook her head, "Thank you, but it's alright. I should probably start heading home anyways," she said, taking a look at the time on her phone. It was rather late, and she did have a bit of homework to get done. It also looked like she wouldn't be visiting Kyosuke today, not when the hospital was on the other side of town. Turning around and starting her walk she raised a hand in the air to wave goodbye, "It was nice talking to you, Akemi! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"B-bye, Miki-san," Homura responded with a shy wave of her own, and a small smile that Sayaka would not see on her face.


	2. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to be able to update this story every few days, and hopefully I will be able to follow it. I've got the main plot point path carved out for the first half of this story so that should help.
> 
> Enjoy, if there are any mistakes, let me know.

A few days later had found Homura sitting in the shade of a tree while in her gym uniform. A towel was draped over her face with the purpose to protect her from the heat, collect the sweat and to shield her from the snickering classmates who made little attempt to be unheard. They made comments and laughed at Homura as though the glasses wearing girl could not hear their rude remarks.

She couldn’t berate them or tell herself what they said was wrong however, not when her own mind was agreeing with the insults they slung at her.

 The past couple of days Homura had learned a surprisingly lot about herself; she sucked at everything she did. She couldn’t stand at the front of the class and answer a simple question without breaking down, and she couldn’t even do the simple warmups without being left out of breath and dizzy. She wasn’t even _allowed_ to participate in anything else but the warm ups by doctors orders.

She was near tears as her mind thought of her own pathetic nature and as a result had not heard the students being yelled at and chided. Nor did she hear soft footsteps approaching her until a new shadow was cast over her nearly sending Homura into a panic from the surprise.

“Sorry, did I scare you? Sorry,” Sayaka apologized, rubbing the back of her neck which was likely damp from sweat. She looked over at the students she had chased away that were now across the track, “Why did you let them say all of that about you?” Why didn’t she stand up for herself?

Homura didn’t answer, drawing her knees closer to herself and leaning back into the tree almost as though she was hoping that it would gobble her up so she wouldn’t have to talk.

With a sigh, Sayaka plopped herself down next to her, changing the subject as was silently requested. “You’re having a hard time, aren’t you? You looked like a fish out of water trying to do those sit ups!” It was amusing to some but just painful to others to watch her struggle like she had.

“I-I’m… I don’t…. I-I’m not doing to w-well,” Homura finally admitted, leaning a little away from Sayaka. She was still feeling short of breath, and her chest still ached from the exertion. Her body wasn’t used to this much activity, and privately she wondered if the warms ups were even something her heart could handle.

But Sayaka just gave a snort of laughter at what Homura had said, and looked at her with a friendly smile, “Well, duh. Everyone can see that,” she gave her a playful shoulder punch. Homura just blushed, rubbing at her shoulder and wondering if a bruise would form because of that,“I can help you tomorrow with warm ups, if you want?”

Blinking at the offer, Homura turned her head to look at Sayaka with wide confused eyes. She didn’t see any sign of an ulterior motive, and so far she had no reason but to think that Sayaka’s offer was genuine. Giving a hesitant nod, she quickly turned to look at the ground, at the side, anywhere but at Sayaka. “S-sure! I mean, if it’s, if it’s not too much of a hassle,” she said meekly, earning a laugh from the other girl.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be a hassle,” she assured her, standing back up as the teacher blew into the whistle alerting the class it was time to head to the locker rooms to shower and change. She offered her hand to Homura who was still on the ground, “Hey, if you’re not doing anything later, want to hang out after school? We can grab a bite to eat and maybe do some shopping?”

Hesitantly taking her hand, Sayaka pulled her up and Homura stumbled for a bit to regain her footing. She wasn’t sure at first if she heard the bluenette right, but she was not mistaken. Her answer would be a soft-spoken yes that brought a wide grin to Sayaka’s face and the promise that it’ll be a fun time for Homura.

The last few classes rolled on and as the bell rang the students rushed out of the room with their things hastily thrown into bags. Acting all for the world like a stampede as they raced outside to claim their freedom from the prison known as school.

After Saotome left following the herd, only a few stragglers were left in the classroom, taking the time to give some organization to their items as they went into the bags, or just talking to their classmates. These were the few that were in no big rush to leave the building and didn’t feel like being trampled by the other students in an attempt to leave.

“Hey, Madoka,” Sayaka said as she came to sit on the edge of her friends desk, a wide smile and ready to leave, “Akemi and I are going out to eat, you coming?” she asked, though it didn’t feel needed. She knew her best friend was going to join them.

But to her surprise, Madoka shook her head and bowed her head in apology, “I’m really sorry Sayaka, but I already had plans for today.”

“With Mami Tomoe,” Sayaka said, already knowing that it was that blonde upperclassman who Madoka had made these plans with. The look on her face just confirmed it and Sayaka sighed, she wasn’t going to get jealous, she wasn’t going to let herself get jealous over this.

“I’m sorry, Sayaka,” Grabbing her bag, Madoka sent another apology as she rushed out of the room, nearly bumping into Homura by accident in her hurry to meet up with Mami.

The transfer student wasn’t meeting the other student’s eyes, and she had recoiled back into her desk when Madoka went past her. But she wasn’t staring at the floor with that ‘l want to disappear’ feeling about her like earlier.

Waiting a few seconds, Homura picked up her bag and approached a sulking Sayaka, giving her a quizzing look, “Is Kaname-san not coming?” she asked, looking to the door where the pinkette had ran out of and then back at Sayaka.

“Nope, she’s hanging out with a ninth grader today,” Sayaka said getting off the desk, it was a bit of a bummer, really. She had wanted Homura and Madoka to hang out a bit, a feeling told her they would have been great friends. But it looked like that wasn’t going to happen today. “Hitomi can’t come either since she had things at home to take care of. So it’s just the two of us it looks like.”

“We can always do this another day, when the others aren’t busy,” Homura offered, always wanting the path that would be the least bother for others.

Sayaka shook her head at that suggestion, taking a trip back to her better mood for Homura’s sake as she wrapped an arm around the frail girl’s shoulders. “No need, besides now that it’s just the two of us, we can do more things and not worry about trying to appease everyone!” They wouldn’t have had any problems with making everyone happy even if the others had been there. But she didn’t want Homura to think it was better they not go, and wanted her to know it would be just as much fun without the others.

She couldn’t explain it, but she felt a need to protect her. A desire to keep Homura safe and happy. Maybe it was because of what Homura had been through with her poor health and isolation, and maybe it was because of Sayaka’s own desire to be a dashing hero like in fairy tales. Always saving the princess and always protecting the innocent, which in this case was Homura. Though Sayaka didn’t think much of the why, she also didn’t care much for it.

She was Homura’s friend, and she wanted to be a good friend for her.

* * *

 

Sitting at a both across from each other, Homura quietly nibbled on the corner of the sandwich she bought as Sayaka dabbed one of her fries in the pool of ketchup.  Beside Sayaka were a few new CD’s she’d bought while they were in the music store earlier. They were rather diverse in type, a few disks she’d gotten to give to Kyosuke when she visited him later, and a couple CDs for herself.

Though she had been bubbly and talkative during most of their time here, when they sat down to eat the girl had fallen into a silence. Lost in her own thoughts as she numbly picked at her fries and rested her cheek on one hand.

“Miki-san,” Homura began, placing her sandwich down and staring at Sayaka with a concerned expression. The girl had been silent the entire time and, well, Homura was starting to feel worried. Did she do something wrong? “Are you alright?”

Sayaka gave a light startled jump and looked up at Homura, blinking with the look of a deer in headlights. There was a pause as her mind scrambled to put together what Homura said and form an answer. When she recovered enough, she gave a few rapid nods, “Yeah, sorry I was just thinking.”

“Oh?” Was the response, and Homura pushed her glasses back up a little, “You looked…upset? Is something bothering you? I-I’m sorry if I said something t-that upset you!” she said quickly, assuming she had done or said something wrong and was the one at fault.

“What? No, no, you didn’t do anything wrong, Akemi,” Sayaka shook her head, taking a quick bite out of her fry, “I was just thinking of Kyosuke, and, well Madoka. How they’ve been lately,” and how she felt helpless when it came to them now.

Kyosuke was getting worse, his hand was healing but he would never play the violin again it seemed. He was getting depressed and angry at the world, lashing out at everyone, but there was nothing Sayaka could do to help him but try to lift his spirits. Even when he would yell at her in his anger she still tried to brighten his day up even if by a little, and it was a tactic that was become less efficient each day. Madoka was a different story however.

She felt like she was losing her best friend to Mami Tomoe. The girl she’d never met apart from seeing glimpses of her with Madoka was stealing her friend from her.

But thinking of it that way just made Sayaka feel guilty. Madoka didn’t belong to her and she could be friends with whoever she wanted. She knew that. But being ditched constantly for the upperclassman did leave a rather nasty sting on her.

“I’m sure that they’ll get better,” Homura offered quietly, there wasn’t much she could say in this situation when she didn’t know much of them, or have any experience in this kind of thing. “Just….give them time, I think that’s all you can do.”

With a sigh, Sayaka leaned back with her arms behind her head. Homura was right, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. “I know, I know,” she said, nodding her head, “I’m just a bit impatient, you know?” after that, she leaned forward and grabbed a fry, wanting to change the subject. “Hey, Akemi. Think fast.”

Before Homua could react, a fry was flung her way and hit her smack dab in the middle of her forehead. Sayaka brought a hand to her mouth, stifling her laughter into a snort when it slid down onto her glasses and stayed there.

“That wasn’t nice,” Homura murmured, plucking the piece of potato off her frames and placed it on the table.

“But it was funny.”

“Still wasn’t nice.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, before breaking off into laughter. Sayaka’s loud and hearty while Homura brought a hand to her mouth to try and stop them resulting in tiny giggles. But she didn’t conceal the smile on her face.

Seeing her smile, Sayaka couldn’t help but feel triumphant at having been the cause of it.

“You look so much prettier when you smile, you know that?” Sayaka said offhandedly without even thinking, watching as Homura’s face turned bright as a stop light at the comment and dipped her head down so she didn’t have to look at Sayaka.

Laughing and shaking her head at the cute reaction, Sayaka threw the last fry in her mouth and stood up from her seat. “Come on, let’s go look at some more stores,” she said offering her hand to the black haired girl who hesitantly took it, being pulled out of her seat almost roughly, “We’ve plenty to do and little time to do it!”

Homura could only give a weak nod, trying to adjust her glasses as she was dragged away from the table, giving a light smile nonetheless at Sayaka.  It was hard not to smile at what Sayaka did, though sometimes idiotic, it was still endearing. Was this what it was like to have a friend? 


	3. Hospital & Locker Rooms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are just getting longer and longer aren't they? Anyways, as I said on Tumblr; the first part of this story is going to focus on Sayaka and Homura's friendship, the second half will focus on their romance.
> 
> Going to be honest here, I personally think the chapter felt a bit rushed but I couldn't figure out how to fix that. But I seem to have a nasty habit of finding things wrong with what I write when there isn't anything. So who knows.

Sayaka didn't know why she always felt nervous when she walked into the building. She'd been in here countless times for countless hours. The receptionists knew at this point why she was here whenever she came in and would give her a wave and smile in greeting which Sayaka would return.

She knew the path by heart. Several steps down a wide hallway, avoid the others in there and don't knock anything over. Stop for a moment or two to say hi to someone. Take a right turn into the elevator and go to the third floor.

The elevator ride was slow, and it felt like years passed by before the doors would open to let her out.

Then it was just another walk down the hall. She counted the room numbers in her head, the numbers getting bigger the farther along she got. Her bag started to feel heavy at this point, even though there was only a few things she carried in there. She reached the familiar door, left open and stepped inside of it after only a few more steps.

Kyosuke was lying in his bed, staring silently out the open window. He didn't even react as Sayaka pulled up a chair beside his bed and sat down.

"Hey," she began smiling, "How're you feeling today?"

There was a pause before he turned to look at her and smiled, "I'm doing better, thanks," Kyosuke said and went back to staring out the window. At least he was in a better mood than he had been last time she visited, he wasn't yelling or in a depressive slump today.

Curious as to what he was staring at, Sayaka frowned and looked over to the window, before finding he was staring at a plump bird perched on a tree outside his window.

"I've been thinking," Kyosuke said as he watched the avian creature preened at its wings, "I want to be like a bird."

Sayaka looked at him and cracked a smile, "You want to be able to use your mouth to clean yourself?" she teased, knowing it wasn't what he had meant, but it got it's desired reaction of a laugh and smile from her friend.

"Not  _that_ much like a bird," he assured her, shaking his head, "Birds can go wherever they want, they even sneak into stores because they want to. I want to have that freedom, to be able to just leave this hospital." An air of melancholy seemed to surround him and Sayaka felt her heart ache and the sight of him so broken.

The topic of the bird was soon forgotten as they began chatting about different things. Kyosuke showed some appreciation towards the CD's that Sayaka had brought him, and the two listened to a song or two from one of them.

Though Sayaka didn't mention Madoka's current avoidance of her, just saying 'she's doing fine' when Kyosuke asked about her. She did however talk to him about Homura for a little bit, getting a nod or two from him.

"I think I remember her," Kyosuke mused, thinking the name over in his head, "I heard some of the doctors mention one of the patients going to our school. I never saw her though, glad to hear she made it out of here."

"You and me both," Sayaka said nodding, smiling a little, "She's a nice person, timid, but nice."

"Maybe you should introduce us one of these days then, though if she's all that you say she is, I might just take her from you," Kyosuke chuckled. He was joking, she knew that, but the idea of that happening didn't sit right with Sayaka.

The two wouldn't work out anyways, Sayaka thought with a mental shrug, no need to worry over it.

"So," she began, changing the subject and glancing at the clock, she'd have to leave soon it seemed, "Have you been getting any visitors?"

She was responded with a nod as Kyosuke began counting on his fingers, "Mom and Dad have both come often, my violin instructor a few times, no one's been able to top you in amount of times you're here, Hitomi was here yesterday, Nakazawa a few times and Ms. Saotome has come too," he listed, lowering good hand when he finished.

"Sounds like you're quite the popular boy," Sayaka said with a laugh, though she was surprised to hear him say Hitomi had visited him. Her friend never mentioned visiting Kyosuke in the hospital before, why was that?

She must have forgot to tell Sayaka, that was it.

* * *

"What do you mean you're going to the hospital after school?" Sayaka demanded with alarm, both hands slammed onto the others desk as she stared wide eyed at her friend, "What happened? Did something happen? Are you okay?"

Hitomi just offered her a smile and shook her head, "It's nothing, really. I just woke up in a warehouse along with some others. Don't know how I go there, authorities think it was a case of mass sleepwalking, and they want to make sure that everything is okay. But really, it's nothing."

That was not a case of 'nothing', but Sayaka refrained from saying so. Still, she responded with a sigh, resting her head on her hand. "Hitomi, what am I going to do about you?" she asked tiredly, looking back up at her. Though Kyosuke's words came back about how Hitomi had been coming to see him, but Sayaka chose not to bring it up.

It was lunch break now, and most of the class had left to find their friends and to eat. Only a small handful of students were still in the classroom, eating and chatting. Sayaka and Hitomi were two of them, taking bites out of their packed lunches while they talked.

Madoka wasn't with them for lunch today, she had not only chosen to go a longer and out of the way route to walk with her new friend instead of with them, but had decided to ditch them to have lunch with her too. Who was this new friend that had all of Madoka's time?

Why  _Mami Tomoe_ of course! Who else would she have left them for but for that blonde 'angel' she's always clinging to?

With gritted teeth, Sayaka shook her head to get rid of the rather unfriendly thoughts that were coming into her head surrounding that older girl. She needed to not get jealous, not get angry at her. But it was so hard when they made it so easy to hate her. Sayaka needed to remind herself that Madoka wasn't leaving them out of spite.

Madoka wasn't leaving them period, just spending time with a new friend and she'd be back with them before too long.

But, Homura wasn't with them yet either despite assuring them that she'd join them for lunch. She had to run to the gym after realizing she'd left her cellphone in there after class. Of course she apologized for leaving and promised to come back quickly, acting as though her leaving was the ultimate offense to the two.

But, Sayaka noted looking at the clock on the wall, she had been gone the majority of the lunch period. It shouldn't have taken that long to find her phone and come back, right? Her lunch remained untouched on her desk and there was only ten minutes left.

"Anyways," Hitomi began, changing the subject from herself, smiling pleasantly, "How was Kyosuke doing?"

Sayaka didn't even hear her question as she stood up, "Hey, I'm going to go find Homura, alright?" she told her friend, not letting her get a chance to respond as she ran out the door. Sayaka didn't know why, but she had an awful feeling in her gut. She felt as though something bad had happened, or was going to happen.

Racing down the hall, Sayaka was able to narrowly avoid multiple collisions with other students without slowing down. She got several odd looks from people who were wondering  _'hey, where's she off to in such a hurry?'_  But she paid no mind to them as she neared the gym.

Skidding to a halt, she took a few steps into the large room. It was empty, not a soul in sight.

Pursing her lips slightly, Sayaka began to explore, checking under the bleachers and even the gyms storage closet for Homura. She didn't know why she might be in either of those places but still Sayaka looked nonetheless.

She was just walking past the doors to the girls locker room when she heard a loud bout of laughter from within stopping her in her tracks.

"You're blind as a bat without these glasses aren't you? Yikes, your eyesight is fucking  _terrible_."

Frowning, Sayaka entered the locker room and began following the voices through the maze like lockers. She could feel her blood boiling, growing hotter and hotter each time they made some remark. Passing by Homura's locker, Sayaka only gave it one glance, seeing it was left open with its items still inside and Homura's phone the cherry atop the clothes.

Continuing on, she located them in the far back of the room, tucked away in a littler corner. There were four of them, two boys and two girls all from a grade above them. The boys had Homura pinned to the lockers while one girl was videotaping it, the other was twirling a pair of red glasses between her fingers.

"G-Give them back,  _please_!"

"I don't think so," the girl in the lead said, tossing it behind her. It bounced a bit before coming to a stop at Sayaka's feet.

That was the last straw for Sayaka really. Seeing these people bully her friend was something she couldn't tolerate and wouldn't stand for.

Sayaka didn't think after that, instead she raced forward, ripping the phone out of Girl No. 2's hands and throwing it over the lockers as far as she could. The girl let out a cry of alarm at Sayaka's actions and gave her a hard shove that did little to aid her.

"What gives?" she demanded, angry but nowhere as angry as Sayaka was.

Grabbing her by the collar of her shirt, Sayaka shoved her into the other girl, watching as both tumbled onto the ground in a tangled mess. "Let her go now," Sayaka growled, turning to the boys and raising her fists. They were bigger than her by quite a bit, but she would still fight them if she had too. The girls behind her had managed to get back up and hastily retreated from the room so it just left the boys now.

There was silence as the three glared at each other waiting for the other to back down. The guys weren't as cowardly in the face of a fight as the girls were and wouldn't run away crying because of a little push.

It felt like an eternity as they stood, and finally the boys relaxed and shook their heads.

"You know, it aint worth it," one of them muttered, letting Sayaka go with a rough shove, the other shrugged, releasing his grip on her as Homura fell to her knees. Not even looking at either underclassmen the two boys made their way out with their pride still intact.

"Homura, you okay? Did they hurt you" Sayaka asked once the two had turned the corner, kneeling down beside the other in worry, she was only given labored breathing and groans in response. "Homura?"

On her knees, Homura's breathing had become labored, hisses escaping between clenched teeth. She had one hand at her chest, fingers digging into the sternum. Before Sayaka could do anything a loud and pain filled gasp was let out as she nearly fell over.

"Homura!" Sayaka called out, quickly grabbing her and holding her steady as Homura continued to whimper, "What's wrong?"

Cracking an eye open, Homura let out a whimper of pain, fingers drumming against her sternum. A lightbulb went off in Sayaka's head and eyes widened. Her heart, the condition,  _shit_.

"I'll call an ambulance, or get the nurse!" She really didn't know what she should do, but she knew she had to do something. The girl was in a panic right now.

However, after another moment or two, Homura had managed to find her voice, shaking her head. "I-It's okay," she said, coughing a little, still struggling to steady her breathing, "The pains….g-going away," Sayaka wasn't convinced that it was okay though.

"At least let me take you to the nurse," And before Homura could argue, the blue haired girl lifted her into her arms and hurried out of the room.

It was rather easy to carry Homura, not to say that Sayaka was inhumanly strong or anything. But Homura was rather light for her age, and Sayaka was already physically fit from her athletic nature. It was useful as they walked down the empty halls, and Sayaka realized that the bell must have rung.

"Think this'll let us get out of being in trouble for class?" Sayaka asked with a slight smile as they walked.

Homura, who was looking anywhere but at Sayaka and had a bright red face from being carried in her arms gave a small shrug, rubbing at her eyes. They probably hurt some without her glasses on, and Sayaka decided she'd go back for the glasses after leaving Homura at the nurse.

"You know, if you were wearing a dress, I could say we were getting married," she teased, adjusting her hold on Homura to a more bridal style. This resulted in making the shy girls face even more red, and Sayaka gave a light laugh. "What's wrong? You don't want to be my wife?"

Homura quickly shook her head, waving her hands about in front of her, "I-It's not that! I…I just…" she looked as though she was going to combust with how hot her face was getting. Maybe for her hearts sake, Sayaka ought to ease up the teasing for now.

"Sayaka? Homura-chan?"

They stopped to look at a startled Madoka standing before them, having just exited the girls restroom. She blinked and tilted her head.

"What are you guys doing? You two weren't in class," she said taking a step forward, face alight with worry, "Homura-chan, are you okay? What happened?"

Homura just looked down at her lap, and Sayaka tightened her grip on her as the frustration she had felt towards Madoka earlier resurfaced. "Homura wasn't feeling well, I'm taking her to the nurse," Sayaka answered, maybe she didn't need the added attitude when she saw Madoka flinch. Homura shot her a look, likely wondering why Sayaka didn't mention the chest pains.

But the pinkette recovered quickly and took a few steps towards them. "Should I go with you guys?" she asked, always concerned for the others sake and looked directly at Homura. She then took notice of Homura's bare face, "Homura-chan? You're glasses are missing, that can't be good for your eyes."

"I-I must have f-forgot them."

Sayaka just stepped back away from Madoka, holding Homura closer to herself, "No, it's fine," She said, pushing down the annoyance and reminding herself that Madoka was her best friend, her tone turning chipper though it wasn't genuine, "Can you let Saotome-sensei know where we are though?" she asked her.

"Oh? Yeah, I can do that!" A nod came from Madoka, and then she asked one last time if they were sure they wouldn't like her to go with them and if they needed anything else before she headed off back to the class.

When she turned the corner, Homura pressed a hand on Sayaka's arm, "Are you okay, Miki-san?"

"I'm fine, Homura," Sayaka said, her grip loosening up when she realized how painful it must have been for Homura, "Let's just get you to the nurse."


	4. Blue&Violet Pink&Yellow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Part One is almost over, I estimate two or three more chapters. Hope you guys are excited. Anyways on a different note; I suck at chapter names, haha.

The nurse had gotten to work right away when the girls explained what was wrong. She checked Homura's heartbeat and gave her the required medicine. Sayaka hovered over her almost like a hawk, a rather protective hawk at that.

Their schools nurse didn't make any indication that Sayaka was getting in the way, and Homura never requested that she back off, so Sayaka stayed where she was.

After seeing that Homura had everything alright, the nurse instructed her to lie down for a bit. Sayaka was to take her home after Homura rested, and had even gotten permission to not need to come back to school after that so long as she stayed with Homura. Not that Sayaka minded or even needed to be given an Okay for that, she was sticking with the other girl either way.

With everything alright, Sayaka had left to bring back Homura's glasses. Coming back, she found the nurse gone and the ravenette sleeping peacefully on one of the beds.

Sayaka couldn't prevent the smile that took over her face at such a sight. Sitting in one of the wheeled spinable chairs near the bed, she leaned over the back, resting her arms and chin on the top as she just watched Homura sleeping. Watching the steady, even rise and falls of her chest as she breathed, the little fidgets and Homura shifted and relaxed.

Seeing her like this, Sayaka could only think of one word to describe her friend right now.

She was adorable.

The bluenette was reaching forward to brush some stray black strands from Homura's face, fingers tracing her cheek when she the ravenette began to stir. Recoiling her hand and bringing it back to her side, Sayaka watched as violet eyes opened and looked right at her.

"Saya…Miki-san?" Homura sleepily asked, rubbing at her eyes, and Sayaka quickly handed her the retrieved red rimmed glasses. With a grateful nod, Homura placed them on her face, "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Forgot already?" Sayaka asked, giving her a grin, "I'm supposed to take you home and stick with you the rest of the day, remember?"

Homura blinked and then gave a flush of embarrassment at forgetting such a crucial detail, sitting back up.

"You feeling better, Homura?" Sayaka asked, reaching towards her a little before dropping her arm back, but still concerned, "If you're not, you can lie down some more."

"I'm fine, honest."

To be honest, Sayaka would have wanted Homura to stay lying down and resting, but gave in the end anyways. The two checked out at the office, the Nurse had already informed them that Sayaka and Homura had a pass to leave school so it wasn't difficult. One of their classmates had even dropped off their bags there for them too, so Sayaka didn't have to run back to the class to get them.

Because she was still worried about Homura's condition, despite the constant assurances that she was alright, Sayaka refused to let Homura carry her own bag. Deeming it too heavy for her right now. She also chose to walk on the side closest to the street during their walk.

The bridge had been deemed a safer route the past few days as the deaths and suicides there had suddenly stopped, so Sayaka decided it'd be best if they took that route. It was shorter than the path the two found together, and the sooner they got to Homura's home the sooner she could make the girl lie back down.

The girl wasn't even aware of how protective or how much she was fussing over Homura today.

The walk was a significantly lot shorter, and they managed to reach the Akemi residence sooner than expected. Homura fished her key out of her skirt pocket and unlocked the door, allowing Sayaka to enter first.

Of course she was nervous as both she and Sayaka removed their shoes. This was the first time someone other than herself and on occasion her parents had entered her home. But she didn't have the luxury of being able to get away with not letting Sayaka in this time. The girl would no doubt throw a fit if she did that.

When they got in, Sayaka looked around with a surprised expression on her face. It was all white; white walls, white ceilings, and white carpets. The only things that brought color to the home was the pale green couch and the brown color of the shelves and TV stand.

There actually wasn't much on the shelves. They were bare except for a couple of books and maybe a knickknack or two. Sayaka had held a feeling that Homura wouldn't have a whole lot of decorations, but this surpassed her expectations.

"Sure are going for a Sparta feel, huh?" Sayaka said with a slight whistle as she stood in the living room.

"I h-hope it's not….bad?" Homura asked tentatively from the kitchen. The sound of a faucet running came from there as she got the two some water. She was still waiting for some disappointed remark from Sayaka. But none ever came.

"Nah, its fine," Sayaka assured her, taking a seat on the couch and leaning back into it. "Should we give your parents a call to let them know you're home early? Don't want you to get in trouble with them thinking you skipped after all," she asked as Homura came back with two glasses of water and sat down next to her.

"They're not here," Homura answered, handing a cup to Sayaka and taking a sip from her own. "They're over in America."

"Wait, you're serious? They're not even in Japan?" That was surprising, and actually irresponsible in Sayaka's opinion, considering Homura's health. "Why though? They know you're condition, and they just left you alone while they take a vacation in a different country? How long were they planning to be gone anyways?"

At Sayaka's questions, Homura gave another sip and a small shrug trying to make it seem as though her parents not being here wasn't an issue, "I don't really know when they'll be back. They said it was a business trip," she explained.

They had left while she was in her third month in the hospital prior to coming to Mitakihara. It didn't really bother her, not anymore at least. Her parents had gotten her this apartment and were still paying its monthly along with her bills. Besides she had a great doctor she could call if she had any health issues, not to mention a few family friends would check up on her on her parent's behalf now and then.

It was lonely though, coming home to emptiness.

"That's still wrong," Sayaka muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as she sank in the couch and grumbled under her breath, "Why would they do something like that anyways?"

The ravenette shuffled awkwardly from her seat, unsure of how to answer Sayaka's question. Not sure if she even wanted to answer it right now. It wasn't that she didn't trust Sayaka… Who was she kidding? She didn't trust Sayaka not to get worked up over the reason they weren't here.

Instead of answering her, Homura began scanning the room for something to shift the conversation and subject onto, "Um, M-Miki-san….do you want too…" she began and her eyes landed on the TV, "H-how about a movie?" she asked lamely.

Sayaka for her part seemed to understand and shrugged, it was a question she could ask when Homura could bring herself to answer, "Sure, let's get some popcorn," she offered, holding a hand out to Homura, pulling her off the couch, "Movie sounds like fun, great way to kill our new free time."

Though she didn't exactly like the subject change, Sayaka would accept it and take things at Homura's pace. If she wasn't comfortable with telling Sayaka something, the bluenette wouldn't push, she would wait for Homura to tell her in her own time. She didn't want to smother and ultimately drive Homura away.

* * *

Madoka stared her notebook, occasionally glancing at Sayaka and Homura' empty desks before returning her attention to the blank pages. She should be taking her notes, but the pink haired girl just couldn't bring herself to concentrate on the teacher.

She kept thinking of that hallway incident. Sure, she'd seen Sayaka like that before, frustrated and angry at people, worried and concerned too. But never had she'd been the target of her best friend's anger, not like that at least.

Sayaka was holding herself back, Madoka could tell. She knew her friend well enough to know when the girl was trying hard not to yell, not to let anger get the better of her.

Madoka wasn't sure which had hurt her more, being the focus point of Sayaka's anger, or having her attempts to help refused and pushed away. They didn't need her to talk to Saotome-sensi, they could have had the nurse let her know.

It was just Sayaka's way of getting Madoka to leave.

Sayaka's attitude to her had been becoming increasingly more bitter whenever they got the chance to talk, Madoka had noticed it. Was it her fault? Most likely, it was. Sayaka didn't mean it, but Madoka was abandoning her, and Sayaka was lashing out.

She really wished she could spend more time with Sayaka, she really did. But she was busy with Mami, trying to collect as many Grief Seeds as they could, take out as many familiars as possible. All so they could be prepared for what Mami had found out through rumors and warnings from other Magical Girls.

Walpurgishnacht was coming.

A witch so powerful it didn't even need a labyrinth to hide. A witch so powerful it could destroy the entire city while everyone was left to think it was some kind of super cell or some other kind of natural disaster.

A witch that Madoka couldn't let harm anyone.

Madoka had made her contract so she could protect this city, protect the people in it who were dear to her. So she could protect her mother, father and Tatsuya. So she could protect Sayaka and Hitomi. How could she do that if she didn't defeat Walpurgis? Though, right now Madoka had a feeling if Sayaka knew why she had been leaving her, she would still be angry.

_'Madoka, you seem off, are you alright?'_  Mami asked, her voice ringing through Madoka's mind and causing the younger girl to give a startled jump.

_'I'm fine…I'm just thinking of Sayaka,'_  she admitted, her eyes drifting back to her best friends empty desk before trying to resume some kind of focus on her class.

Mami gave a sigh from her end, not an annoyed or tired one, but a sympathetic sigh,  _'I do feel bad for constantly pulling you away from her,'_  she admitted, gentle as always,  _'I hope she isn't becoming too lonely without you.'_

_'I don't think she is, she's upset, but I don't think she's lonely'_  Madoka answered, eyes going over to Homura's desk,  _'She's become good friends with Homura-chan, so she's not alone. I just wish we could tell her about all of this.'_

Mami was silent for a minute or two before responding to her,  _'How about this. When we beat Walpurgis, we tell Miki-san about the witches, and about us. Would that help at all? Maybe we can have her join us too.'_

She thought it over, tossing the idea around in her head and gave a small nod,  _'That can work. After we defeat Walpurgisnacht, we tell Sayaka,'_ she agreed with the idea.

The veteran gave a pleased hum in her mind,  _'With that decided, I'll leave you to do your work. We can have tea at my home after our witch hunt today,'_ Mami said, though she didn't need to say so, it was practically a tradition to have tea and cake after a hunt.  _'See you after school, Madoka. One last thing though,'_

_'Hm?'_

_'I love you.'_

Madoka smiled at that,, a light blush she hoped no one noticed peppered her cheeks and wondering if Mami could feel happiness Madoka felt through their mental connection.

_'Love you too, Mami-san.'_

* * *

The two sat on the couch, each with a blanket around them now as a film played on the TV. A large bowl of popcorn was set on the coffee table between them. It had been made plane for the both of them with no salt because Sayaka had heard somewhere that too much salt can cause heart attacks. She didn't want to risk it, and she wasn't sure about butter so that was out too. Though Homura didn't seem to voice any complaints so she assumed it was fine.

They had binged on a few short films, some animated some live actions, and watched a few TV episodes. Playing right now was some kind of film that's title had seemed interesting. Though currently it was a bit of a letdown to both with how bad it was.

The earlier issue had been forgotten, something Homura was grateful for. She would explain what she had meant to Sayaka a different date, just not today.

"Ugh, that's just terrible," Sayaka groaned, stuffing some popcorn into her mouth as the leading lady of the movie clung to the love interest. Silver glowing liquid, or rather ' _moon tears_ ' ran down the right side of her face as she went on about how she had to return to the moon.

Homura gave a nod, "Why did we pick this?" she asked before shaking her head, "Right, the title seemed interesting, and the description made it sound like a decent movie."

With that, Sayaka gave a laugh, "You picked it, just remember that, you picked this awful movie," shaking her head and after that only gave the film a little attention as she tossed another piece of popcorn into her mouth. "Tomorrow the class is taking a trip to Kazamino," she commented, watching Homura out of the corner of her eye, "Are you….can you…"

"If you're asking if I'll be able to go, I can go," Homura said turning to look at her, hands on her knees toying with her socks, "I mean, the teachers say I can go, so long as I bring my medicine with me, and don't go off anywhere on my own."

Sayaka gave a nod, "Well, then great! We'll just have to stick together then the entire trip then!" Not as though that wasn't already her plan. They were going to a new city, like hell Sayaka was going to let Homura be on her own.

It was going to be the whole weekend, meaning they would be staying the night at the hotel too. Sayaka had all sorts of nighttime ghost stories she was just itching to tell Homura. She wanted to see Homura get so scared she clung to Sayaka for protection against the shadows on the wall.

"Maybe we can hang out with Kaname-san too," Homura offered with a smile, "You'd like that, right? And Tomoe-san won't be there so she won't leave you to hang out with her. Shizuki-san too, of course."

At the idea of hanging out with her three best friends brought a silly smile to her face, "That sounds great. We'll have to have so much fun too!" she said nodding her head quickly. It felt great to be able to spend time with Madoka without having Mami to drag her away. It would also let her and Madoka catch up, and more importantly put an end to all these negative feelings she was developing when it came to Madoka lately.

This weekend would be great.


	5. Kazamino

The morning was good so far. It was nice out; warm but not hot with a cool and light breeze flowing through the air. Several handfuls of students from the middle school were standing around the train station, talking to their friends and double checking their bags to ensure they had everything. There was not a person in sight who was dressed in their uniform.

Sayaka was sitting at a bench that was in good view of the entrance to the station. Her blue bag was at her feet as she waited for her friends to arrive. She was rather excited for this trip to be perfectly honest, just like the other students were.

Hitomi, who had gotten hear not to long after, sat next to her reading a book silently. While Homura who was the last of the three to arrive sat on Sayaka's other side, fingers drumming against the handle of her wheeled bag with nervous energy.

In the far corner, the bluenette could see Saotome yelling something into her phone, and the girl had an inkling that her teacher was in a fight with her newest boyfriend. Hopefully the destined breakup wouldn't affect the trip in any negative way. Maybe she could find a decent guy in Kazamino.

Fifteen more minutes passed and she saw neither heads nor tails of Madoka Kaname, and Sayaka was starting to feel worried. Had the pinkette slept in? She was going to miss the train and miss the trip! A part of her also wondered if a certain someone had talked her out of coming to the trip.

"I'm going to call her," Sayaka said when she could take the wait no longer, standing up quickly and drawing her two friends' attention onto her. Then without another word, she fished her cellphone out of her pocket and quickly dialed the familiar numbers.

The phone rang several times before going to the answering machine and the girl hung up. Sayaka's first assumption had been that Madoka was ignoring her, but that didn't sound like Madoka at all, so she threw that thought out.

 _Though much of her behavior doesn't sound like Madoka_ , Sayaka thought bitterly. It was unlikely that Madoka was outright ignoring her, but with all the changes Madoka had made, it wasn't impossible.

"No luck?" Homura asked as Sayaka sat back down on the bench between her and Hitomi. A worried expression was on the girls face that made Sayaka smile inwardly at knowing that she was concerned.

Shaking her head, Sayaka put the phone back in her pocket and sighed, "Nope, she didn't answer, I hope she doesn't miss the train." She had desperately wanted Madoka to go on this trip with them, and had been really looking forward to finally getting some time with her best friend. Maybe she could even learn why Madoka was constantly abandoning her for Mami.

She had so many questions she wanted Madoka to answer, but most of all, she just wanted Madoka.

"I think I see her coming, actually," Hitomi spoke up, looking directly at a large crowd of people at the entrance. Sayaka's attention quickly focused on It and sure enough she could see a pink haired girl running towards them with a bag being dragged behind and her heart began to soar.

But seeing who was behind her and Sayaka's soaring heart plummeted down to the ground catching on fire during the descent.

"Sorry I'm late," Madoka said coming to stop in front of them, hands on her knees as she panted for breath. "I overslept, and I… and I had to run all the way here," she said, wiping away a little sweat from her brow.

Mami didn't look as out of breath as her companion, and smiled pleasantly at the three.

"You must be Madoka's friends, she told me so much about you," she said, still smiling, and all Sayaka wanted to do was to smack that friendly expression off her face. Even more so when she saw the packed bags at the older girls feet.

What the Hell was she doing? Was she joining their trip?

Madoka perked up a bit, and straightened herself up when she regained her breath, remembering that the group hadn't formally met Mami yet. "This is Tomoe Mami, she's my new friend and mentor of sorts," Madoka said, a hand gestured to the blonde, "Mami, this is Sayaka, Hitomi and Homura."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Mami said, clasping her hands together, "And it looks like we'll all get to spend time together during this weekend trip too. It'll certainly be fun."

"Mami's coming along so she can visit an old friend of hers in Kazamino," Madoka added as an explanation.

Excuses, excuses, she just came so she could be a pest as always. With gritted teeth, Sayaka stood up and began walking away from the group, shoulder bumping into Mami, "Yeah, whatever. I'm getting onto the train," she didn't even try to mask the bitter tone, she was to annoyed to attempt it.

Seeing her stalk away, Homura quickly began apologizing on Sayaka's behalf, "I'm sorry, Tomoe-san! She's just in a bad mood right now, she's not usually grumpy like that," the girl said. She knew Sayaka's hostile attitude when it came to Mami well, and she didn't want to see it be reciprocated in the slightest.

"No, it's fine," Mami assured her, picking up her own bag, "Miki-san is right though, it'd be best if we get on the train or it'll leave without us. Shall we go?"

As they began following Mami to the train, Homura let out an internal sigh and looked to the sky. If Sayaka was going to be difficult around Mami, it was going to be a very long and tiresome trip.

* * *

After a bit of time, the entire class plus Mami were standing in the middle of the hotel. Though Mami sat off to the side away from the class as she was not a part of it. Saotome was at the front of the group, a pile of Keycards to her left and a clipboard in her hands as she named off students and gave them their room numbers.

It seemed like the rooms occupants were assigned randomly, though Sayaka was hoping she could be roommates with one of her friends. It beat having to room with someone she barely knew.

Out of the corner of her eye, she kept some of her attention locked onto Mami. The girl had been pleasant, almost sickeningly so during the train ride, and while Hitomi and Homura had taken a liking to the blonde, Sayaka still didn't trust her. No one who's hair curled like that could be good news!

"Miki-san? ...Miki-san! Miki Sayaka are you listening!" The class let out some snickers as Sayaka snapped back to attention to find Saotome glaring at her. "Glad to have your attention back, it's truly an honor," the teacher said sarcastically.

Her cheeks reddened a little from embarrassment.

"Now," Saotome said looking back at her clipboard now that she had Sayaka listening, "As I said, you will be in room 112 along with Shizuki Hitomi." The two keycards were held up and both girls stepped forward to take them before going away from the group with their bags to find their room.

It was on the first floor thankfully, and the halls weren't too much of a maze that it took only a few minutes to find it.

"We lucked out," Sayaka said peering into the open room across from theirs which was just home to several vending machines. "If we get hungry or thirsty at night we won't have to go down the hall in search of one of theses." They weren't that expensive either she noted as she put some money in the slot and got herself a candy bar.

Hitomi just gave a small laugh and shook her head, "Lucky for you. I don't get midnight cravings like you do," she said placing her bag on the bed by the window, "You don't mind if I take this bed do you?" she asked and earned a shake of the head as her answer.

While Hitomi was busy putting some of her things away, Sayaka sprawled onto her bed with a pamphlet in front of her face as she read about what there was to do in Kazamino. Truthfully there wasn't that much, at least not compared to Mitakihara, but there were a few things that seemed interesting to check out.

"Hey, Hitomi," Sayaka said getting off the bed and looking into the bathroom where her friend was putting some haircare items on the sink, "I'm going to find Madoka and Homura, you coming? Going to go see if they want to head out into the town."

Shaking her head, Hitomi just gingerly withdrew her phone from her bag, "I'll pass for now, I've got to make a call. But I'll catch up to you guys later."

Shrugging, Sayaka grabbed a keycard and exited the room as Hitomi called the Mitakihara hospital so she could talk to Kyosuke. Though Sayaka would remain unaware of the growing closeness between the two.

She reentered the lobby and looked around, finding Homura sitting at one of the couches having a discussion with Madoka and Mami. Fighting back the scowl that wanted to form at the sight of the blonde, Sayaka strolled up and leaned against the back of the couch.

"So, any plans?" she asked, trying to remain friendly.

Madoka smiled at her as she turned her head around to look, "We were just discussing some places where we could visit," she explained, holding up her own pamphlet of Kazamino, "We were thinking the arcade was a good place to start."

"Really?" Sayaka asked and tilted her head and looking as though she were in thought over the idea. Truthfully she was just thinking of how to ignore Mami's presence since it was clear that the blonde would be sticking with them for this, "The arcade it is then!"

* * *

It was a good thing that Mami had joined their group for today, seeing as no one really knew their way around Kazamino like she did. Or at least Homura thought that, it was clear that Sayaka didn't hold the same opinions she had towards the older girl.

Truthfully, Homura didn't see Mami as a bad person, at least not the kind that Sayaka always painted her as. She was trying to make friends with them, and she was nice enough as they went. But she could understand why Sayaka was so angry with Mami. Homura would feel the same way should someone take Sayaka from her as Mami had with Madoka.

For Homura, it was Madoka who had her frustrations pointed at. She was nice, sweet and kind, and Homura didn't hate the girl, she didn't even dislike her, but she couldn't help but feel so  _annoyed_  whenever it came to her. Annoyed because didn't Madoka see what she was putting Sayaka through by ignoring her and ditching her?

Homura cared for Sayaka, a  _lot_ , how could she not? Sayaka was her first friend, the greatest friend she could ever have even. It pained her when she saw Sayaka pained, and Madoka was like an arrow through Sayaka's heart at the moment.

But they would be roommates for this trip, and so Homura would remain friendly, and continue to bite back any of her annoyances when it came to Madoka, try be friends with her. Hey, maybe in another time, another world all four of them could have been friends.

"Akemi-san, you need to steady your grip," Mami said making the girl jump out of her thoughts as she felt hands being placed over her own, adjusting her grip on the plastic gun she was holding. Mami must have seen how poorly Homura was doing at the shooting game and decided to give her a hand.

"I-It's okay," Homura said, uncomfortable at the close proximity between her and Mami, and she could feel Sayaka's gaze burning into them. Would this be considered a betrayal to their own friendship?

But light laughter was given in response as Mami moved their arms up a little, adjusting Homura's aim. "It's alright, Akemi-san. I'm just helping," she said as she moved their arms a bit once again, "Now, pull the trigger."

Not wanting to disobey, but also still on edge, Homura's finger squeezed the trigger and a dull thunk followed by tin falling to the floor sounded in return. Homura just stared in surprise at the table that now no longer had the tin bottles tacked on it.

"Good job," Mami said, patting her head and giving a smile so infectious that Homura couldn't help but do one in return.

Before she could do anything else, she felt someone pulling on her sleeve as Sayaka tugged her away from Mami. "Hey, Homura, why don't we go do this," she said as she pulled her deeper into the arcade, and pointed at one of those dancing machines, though it seemed like she just picked it out at random. Homura had to wonder, was she  _jealous?_

Homura stared at it for a second and pulled back, "Sorry, but I don't think I'd be really good at that one," she was a terrible dancer, and really she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of everyone.

"I can play against you," Mami offered, following the two and as usual smiled. Though this one a bit more challenging.

Sayaka stared at her hard, and the flash of determination filled her eyes, "You're on, Tomoe," she said, a smirk coming up.

"What are they doing?" Madoka, who had come up with her arms full of stuffed animals for prizes, asked as she watched the two stand parallel on the machine. However, realization soon kicked in, "They're not, please tell me they're not."

"They are," Homura answered tiredly. They seemed intent to duke it out on the machine, though Homura wondered if Mami was just doing this to try and appease Sayaka, or she too had some bone to pick with her.

Both wore confident looks on their faces as they shook hands and inserted the coins into the slot. A countdown and soon both were moving to the beat.

"I hope this helps them to get along," Madoka sighed as they watched the two battle through dance. The intensity was almost overwhelming, it felt as though they were watching the two duel to the death and it was almost ridiculous.

Sayaka wasn't doing half bad, the game was crying out 'Good, Great, Gr-eat!' in response to her moves. But it was nothing compared to Mami's near constant 'Perfect, Perfect, Per-fect!' as she moved gracefully and swiftly. She acted almost as a professional, and Sayaka must have noticed for she began doubling her efforts.

"Raspberry's going to get her ass handed to her if things keep going like this, heh."

Homura turned to give the redhead a small glare at her underestimation of Sayaka, "And what makes you so certain of that? She might just surprise you."

"Whoa there, calm your tits. I'm just giving your girlfriend some friendly advice," she said, laughing at the bright red flush that overcame Homura's face at the mention of girlfriend. "Kyouko Sakura, nice to meet ya!"

Still startled by the girl calling Sayaka her girlfriend, Homura mumbled out her own name, "Homura A-Akemi."

Smiling, Kyouko offered up a box of pocky to her, "Want one?" She asked, and pulled it back after one of the sticks had been taken back. "So what's got them going at it so fiercely?" she asked referring to Mami and Sayaka. The entire match seemed to be amusing her greatly.

"Just, some stuff really," Homura said referring her attention to the dancing. It looked like Sayaka had caught back up to Mami, but it seemed the both of them were begining to get exhausted. "There's some tension around them."

Kyouko just laughed in response, "Well, I've got to see this till the end," she said sticking a piece of pocky into her mouth, "Maybe they'll decide to kiss at the end, wouldn't that be a show?"

Without her consent, the image of the two kissing, popped into Homura's mind and her face grew red, as well as an odd feeling starting to bubble up in her chest. What was it, dislike? She certainly didn't like the idea of Mami and Sayaka making out.

Shaking her head frantically, Homura returned her attention on the dancing, while Kyouko and Madoka exchanged quick greetings before focusing on the two as well.

Homura had been right in her assumption earlier about the two of them growing tired. The Perfect and Great comments to their moves had turned into 'Good', 'Boo' and 'Miss', with a few 'Great' and 'Perfect's but they were far and few in between. Their steps had turned messy and their breathing was heavy, it was clear neither would be able to keep up for much longer.

It was Sayaka who fell first. She tripped over her own feet, and barely was able to keep herself from tumbling to the ground as she grasped the railing. Mami was a bit more graceful as she sank to her knees in surrender.

"Well," Kyouko said, biting into another pocky, "Looks like a tie," with that she pointed at the screens, which were surprisingly enough at the same number like she said. Her attention was on Homura as she gave her a slap on the back "That was pretty fun, but I've got to get going. Maybe I'll see you around."

Unsure what to make of it, Homura just nodded and gave her a small wave goodbye before turning to Sayaka. "Are you okay?" she asked, helping her stand back up and get away from the legs. The poor girl's legs were like jello as she used Homura as support.

"I've…I've never did anything….that exhausting," Sayaka breathed into Homura's ear as she leaned against her, watching as Madoka helped Mami stand too. "I think some water…yeah some water would be good."

It was actually comedic with how Sayaka was acting, and Homura couldn't help the tiny smile on her face. "Let's get you some water then."

* * *

Day one of the trip was drawing closed, about an hour more or less before everyone was required to be in their rooms. Make that thirty considering the distance that Homura and Sayaka would need to walk to get from the store back to the hotel.

"This is kind of nice, don't you think?" Sayaka said as she picked up a CD, it was some heavy metal band and she had a self-amused grin on her face as she thought of sending it to Kyosuke as a joke. "Might melt your brain though if you listen to it."

Homura hummed in response as she looked around the shelf opposite of that. Along it were music boxes and small trinkets. In her hands she rotated a small object with a carved clock face in the palm of her hand.

"Find something you like?" Sayaka asked peeking over her shoulder to look at the object.

"It's nice," Homura said, putting it back on the shelf, "But I don't think I'm going to buy it."

"Why not?"

"I'd like to save my money in case I find something I like more later along the trip," Homura responded with a light shrug and looked down at the CD in Sayaka's hand. Not the same one she had been talking about, "Did you find one?"

Lifting up the CD, with a band name Homura didn't recognize printed on blue flames, she grinned and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I've heard some of their songs online, so they seem pretty cool," she said before placing the CD back on the shelf much to Homura's surprise, "Most of my money's in my room so I don't have enough on hand right now."

Homura made an Oh sound and nodded, glancing at the clock on the wall, "We should get going if we're going to be back in time," the idea of Saotome being angry because they were late was not an idea she wanted to entertain.

Nodding, Sayaka began waving her off, "I'll meet you outside, I'm going to use the bathroom quick," she said heading towards the back of the small store, and Homura just nodded and headed out of it giving a goodbye to the clerk at the register.

Sayaka had been quick like she had said, and only a few minutes later she left the store and rested her hands behind her head. "Man I'm tired," she said, punctuating the words with a yawn, "I'm going to need sleep to recharge my batteries."

"Same," Homura said rubbing at her eyes. It was rather late, and they had gotten up at an unholy time of the morning to board the train. So it was natural to be this tired, but it wasn't fun.

Most of the walking was in silence after that, broken up by small talk. A few comments about the dance off with Mami earlier, and then how Mami and Madoka split up from the group to do their own thing after the arcade. Sayaka had been bitter about that of course, but she pushed it back and the two of them had then done some window shopping and a little actual shopping the rest of the day as well as getting something to eat.

However, as they walked, Homura came to notice the close proximity of which Sayaka walked next to her. A thought came back into her mind at this, one that had been returning again and again since the arcade. The idea of Sayaka being her girlfriend.

Homura's face turned red quickly after that, and she was thankful it was hidden in the dark of the night, else Sayaka would have seen it and questioned her about it.

 _Stop thinking of it_!

With that, Homura forcefully pushed that thought aside and filled the air with chitchat that she hoped was not too awkward sounding.

After half an hour, the two were standing in the halls, checking in with Saotome and stopping at Homura's door which had been the first to come up.

"Well, goodnight, I'll see you in the morning," Sayaka said, and Homura mumbled out a goodnight back, and was just opening her door when Sayaka called for her to stop. "I got you something, I hope you don't mind," she pulled something wrapped in brown paper from her pocket and placed it in Homura's hands.

Before Homura could unwrap it or say thank you, Sayaka was already down the hall heading to her own room. Unwrapping the tissue paper, Homura stared into the carven clockface as the same trinket she was looking at in the store.

"She…bought this for me?"

Dumbly, Homura entered her currently empty room and sat on her bed, still holding the trinket in her hand. Sayaka had bought her this without being prompted to do so. Without any reason to do so other than because she wanted to.

An odd feeling started to fill Homura's chest as it began beating faster and faster.

What Kyouko had said entered her mind once again. Sayaka as her…girlfriend? It was an idea that Homura couldn't help but find pleasing. Thinking of it, imagining it sent a jolt of excitement through her. Homura's heart began beating faster as she continued to entertain the idea, not that it would ever be a reality.

_It would be nice though. I wouldn't mind if we were dating._

Placing a hand on her warm chest, Homura's eyes widened in surprise, her heart was like a drum in her ears. "I like her."

"Like who?" Madoka asked, leaning forward on her own bed, and watching Homura with wide eyes and a big smile.

With a cry of alarm, Homura jumped and nearly fell off the bed, "W-When did you get here?" She asked, clutching at her chest with one hand, and the wooden clock with the other.

"Just a minute ago, so who are you talking about?" Madoka asked.

Her heart hadn't calmed down yet, and it was then that Homura began noticing the stabbing pain in her chest as the real reason for her racing heart was revealed. Quickly tumbling off the bed, Homura raced to the bathroom without another word. Madoka followed watching as Homura quickly swallowed down a couple of her pills.

"You alright?" she asked taking a step to her in worry but Homura just nodded her off, assuring her that all was fine. She'd just forgotten to take her medicine during lunch was all, so it was nothing to worry about now.

Thankfully the meds managed to derail Madoka from asking more about who Homura was talking about, but it didn't do anything to shake her certainty in her realization.

 _I really do like her_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Kyouko has made her debut, and Homura's realized she's developing romantic feelings for Sayaka. Though I wouldn't go and say it's love just yet. 
> 
> The next chapter will wrap up both the Kazamino field trip and Part One.


	6. Shatter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter to Part One, I hope it doesn't feel to rushed to you guys.

It was the last day of the trip, the entire class was to return to the train station at the afternoon to return home. So as expected, everyone was trying to jam as much as they could into the little time remaining. Which caused quite a bit of excitement and chaos.

Sayaka was still in her room, sleeping the minutes away while Homura sat in the small café across the street from the hotel nibbling on a piece of toast. Anxiety and fear filling her heart. The one she had called out on such short notice smiled, sipping on tea but not saying a word. Instead she opted to let Homura find hers.

Quickly swallowing, Homura looked up at Mami, fingers drumming against the table nervously. "S-Sorry for calling you out here so early, T-Tomoe-san," she said, ducking her head and glancing out the window. She was scared that Sayaka would see her talking to the 'enemy' and defriend her. A wild idea but one she dreaded anyways.

Though that was the reason she had brought Mami out here.

"It's fine, Akemi-san," Mami assured her with another sip of her tea. She truly didn't mind Homura calling her out, and couldn't deny she was curious as to the reason.

Homura shuffled awkwardly in her seat, everything she had planned to say were forgotten in a mess of nervousness. Another silence overtook them as Homura struggled to piece together what she wanted to say again, "I….I really don't like the tension between you and Miki-san!"

There, it was out, not as well said as she had wanted, nor as 'graceful', but it was out.

A third silence and Homura wondered if she had said something wrong with that one statement, before Mami broke down into little giggles.

"You're not the only one," she said, giving a small sigh, resting her cheek on her hand, "I'm not too fond of Miki-san's hostility towards me, but I can understand why she feels that way."

Homura felt excited knowing that Mami shared her dissatisfaction in their relation, this was good. That meant they could fix it, right? "Then we can fix it by letting her spend time with Kaname-san without having her pulled away by you!"

"Absolutely not."

Jolting back, Homura stared at her in surprise, "Eh?"

"Sorry," Mami apologized, shaking her head gently, "I'm being rather selfish aren't I? It's just I can't bring myself to give Madoka-san up to Miki-san. At least not so early, though I'm sure you're familiar with the feeling when it comes to Miki-san."

Homura could only stare and offer a confused 'eh' in response. She wasn't sure what Mami was talking about, and she had a sinking feeling that the blonde already knew what she had only found out herself recently.

"So innocent. Love, Akemi-san, I'm talking about love," then, looking back and forth, Mami leaned forward across the table, "I will let you in on a secret, that neither Madoka-san or I've told anyone. You must promise not to tell anyone, especially not Miki-san, alright? You might understand my reluctance to give up time with her knowing this," after giving Homura time to nod, Mami smiled, putting her hands together, "You see, Akemi-san... Madoka-san and I are in love."

A silence as Homura processed this, her face turning red, "E-Eh?"

"We're still early in the relationship so it's only natural to want to spend as much time together as we can though," Mami continued, looking thoughtful and ignoring Homura's outburst, "Hence my reluctance to share my adorable beloved with others. I do regret the strain on any potential friendships between me and Miki-san, but sacrifices must be made. Though, I am sure you already know about these feelings yourself."

Even more red in the face at what Mami was implying, Homura jerked back, hands shaking and gave a third startled 'Eh?!' in response. The poor girl couldn't seem to form any other words besides that.

Giggling, Mami stood up, leaving some money to pay for her share of the food, "It was fun talking to you, Akemi-san," she admitted as Homura continued to struggle with remembering how to speak, "I would very much like if we could be friends in the future. Though it might be difficult, time will tell. For now, I hope you have a nice day," and she was gone before Homura could even say goodbye.

Sighing, Homura leaned forward and rested her head on her hands, trying to calm her racing heart. She couldn't tell if Mami had been teasing her, or if she had actually known of Homura's feelings for Sayaka. How, she did not know. The ravenette had thought she had done a decent enough job in covering it up the past couple of days, acting like normal and nothing was wrong. Maybe she just hadn't done it well enough to deceive the elder girl, perhaps there had been a slip up here and there that alerted her.

Hopefully Mami was the only one to notice, even more hopefully was that Mami was just teasing her and didn't actually  _know_ about the crush.

Still, Mami had just told Homura something very personal. She and Madoka were together, what wasn't news one would blindly advertise, did that mean that Mami trusted her? A girl she knew for only a few days and was friends with someone who despised her? It didn't make much sense to Homura, and she knew that Sayaka would have a fit over it if she were to find out, and that was putting it mildly. That was information that could shatter her and Madoka's friendship forever.

Even if Homura wasn't completely fond of her classmate, she did want to see Sayaka and Madoka reconcile.

"I won't be telling Sayaka any of it," she mumbled out loud, face still buried in her hands.

"Any of what?"

With a startled yelp, Homura jerked back, staring wide eyed at the girl sitting. Grateful that it wasn't Sayaka, but still alarmed at the intrusion as the redhead began taking one of the uneaten rolls Mami had left behind and biting into it.

"S-Sakura-san!" Homura said as she sat straight, body on edge. What was Kyouko doing here?

Kyouko grinned and gave her a wave, taking another bite out of the roll, "That's m'name, don't wear it out," she said through a mouthful of food. Taking the time to swallow, she continued, "So what were you talking about, what dontcha want Blueberry to know bout?"

With a finger pointed at her, and eyes narrowed, Homura looked away, wringing her hands together. Kyouko didn't really know the others, did she? So it wouldn't hurt if she told her about Mami and Madoka...No! She promised Mami not to tell anyone!

"I-It's nothing," she finally answered, shaking her head, "I...I promised my... friend... I wouldn't tell anyone," it felt odd actually calling Mami a friend. Was she a friend?

Kyouko just sighed, disappointed by the answer, "Fine, fine, don't tell, I didn't even care that much anyways," she grumbled. Was she really so bored that any gossip about people she didn't even know would suffice as entertainment? That was actually kind of sad.

There was a prolonged pause between them that was eventually broken up by Homura coughing into her fist.

"Anyways...what are you doing here?" a question she had been wanting to ask and was rather curious about. What  _was_ Kyouko doing here at her table? Surely she had better things to do then sit with a stranger at eat another persons food. Not that Mami would have minded and Homura could care less about it.

"Huh? I saw you while passing by and since you were alone, I figured you wouldn't mind having your day made better by my awesome presence this morning."

So egotistical.

But, Homura couldn't say she minded the company, "Why though? Not like you really know me."

"You seemed like a good enough kid back at the arcade, so I figured it wouldn't hurt," Kyouko shrugged, having finished all the breakfast rolls and now reaching for Homura's toast. The ravenette just pushed the plate closer to her, she wasn't that hungry anyways. Probably earned her some point with Kyouko by doing that. "Your class is heading back to...whatever town you came from today, right?"

"Mitakihara, and yes."

"Whatever," Kyouko said with a shrug, finishing off the toast slice and moving onto the other slice, "Anyways, thought I might as well say goodbye, y'know? Not often you meet someone who's not a complete bitch or lose after all."

Homura blninked at that, "Um, thank you?" was that a compliment? Homura was going to assume that was a compliment, "I'm glad you think I'm...decent enough of a person to say goodbye too."

The toast slice was pointed at her then,along with a wide smile, "Good. You're a smart kid, Homura, so keep your nose outta trouble, got it?"

The final piece of toast was finished, and Kyouko patted her head as she got up, "I've got things to do, nice talking to you, and thanks for the food," she was gone after that. Homura wondered if she was really just here for the food, she had a gut feeling that that was the case here.

"She is one weird girl," Homura muttered, sitting up herself and leaving some money on the table next to Mami's to pay for the rest.

* * *

Sayaka didn't wake up until rather late, so Homura had plenty of time to herself until then. So she walked around Kazamino, alone though she knew she wasn't  _supposed_  to. But it wasn't going to hurt anyone or anything. Some quiet to herself would be nice too.

It was quite nice out too, warm with a breeze that carried a nice fragrance on it. A few of her classmates were running around, laughing and causing excitement, though fun as it might have been, she didn't join them. There was a small handful of classmates she felt  _comfortable_ talking to, and they were not among them. Actually, Homura could name the number of them on one hand.

Sayaka, of course, Hitomi, Nakazawa, and on the rare occasions, Madoka.

Sighing, Homura leaned against the wall, "I really don't have that many friends, do I?" she asked herself, shaking her head. It was something she ought to fix. Maybe some other time, with Sayaka with her to offer support. That sounded like a plan.

Her attention soon turned to the store she was leaning against, head tilting in curiosity. It was one where she had been to on the first day here with Sayaka. "This is where she got me that," the girl mumbled, moving over and pushing the door open. The bell chimed and the clerk gave a greeting, recognizing her when she entered.

Nodding back to the clerk, Homura made her way to the back of the store. She paused at the aisle that had several small ornaments in it, eyes catching a copy of the one Sayaka got her. "No… Something like that wouldn't work," she mumbled, shaking her head in displeasure.

Moving on to the next aisle, Homura found herself facing against several CD's and records. A lightbulb seemingly went off in her head. "That's right, there was a CD here that she liked…but didn't have enough money on her to buy. She never did come back here for it, did she?" Homura mumbled, thumbing through the plastic holders. What was the name of the band? Homura couldn't remember, did Sayaka even say what it was called? No, she hadn't.

However, Homura paused when she realized how rapidly she was skimming through the CD's, how frantic she must look.

"Calm down, Homura, its not like you're short on time," she muttered to herself as she did just that. With no way to remember what the band had been called, she would have to look at each CD carefully to find it. Thankfully, she could remember the distinctive cover, blue flames with a title in metallic colors. She would just have to look for a CD like that, and hopefully there weren't too many designs like it.

It took some time, starting from the letter A, Homura was all the way into the M rack when she finally found it.

"Only one copy too... Lucky break," she chuckled to herself, bringing it up to the counter and paying for the CD. She could give it to Sayaka when they boarded the train to head back home. Glancing at her watch, Homura gave a startled jump at seeing how late it had gotten. She had an hour to get back to the hotel, pack up and head to the train.

"I should have come here first," Homura groaned, breaking out into a run.

Thankfully, she made it back to the hotel in time, and even more thankfully, she had already packed most of her belongings, all she had to do was put away her medicine and the few things she bought and she would be ready.

She was doing just that when a hand landed on her shoulder making her jump in fear and whirl around, nearly knocking down the intruder.

"Jumpy much?" Sayaka asked, taking a step back to avoid Homura, "Just came to see if you were ready to go."

Hand on her heart, Homura adjusted the CD she bought so it was hidden behind her, "Y-Yeah...just give me a minute," she said, still coming down from the surprise. Why were so many people intent on confronting her when she was not prepared? As Sayaka looked around the room, Homura slipped the CD into her bag and zipped it up.

"You didn't by chance see Madoka this morning, did you?" Sayaka asked, noting that Madoka's side of the room was empty, the pin haired girl already gone. Homura mumbled a quick no as she finished packing, thinking back to this morning. No, Madoka had still been sleeping when she went and got breakfast with Mami, though chances were that was where she was right now; with Mami. Seems Sayaka knew it two.

Sayaka quietly glared at Madoka's bed, almost as if her gaze was actually looking at her 'best friend', and it was her turn to jump in surprise when Homura spoke after what felt like ages of silence.

"L-Let's get going, Miki-san," she said, head tilted to the door and pushing up her glasses.

They didn't talk much the trip to the station, and Homura was quick to notice the distant look Sayaka had. Something had happened, and there was a gut feeling there that it didn't involve Madoka this time, but something else.

At the train station, the class was there, and Homura could spot pink and yellow deep in the masses, but didn't tell her friend. It wouldn't make things better, it wouldn't make things worse. Hitomi joined them, and Sayaka gave a halfhearted greeting to her friend. If the sophisticated girl noticed the change in Sayaka's mood she didn't comment on it.

During the ride, they stayed quiet, Sayaka would occasionally break it with a joke, or some comment but it was clear her mind was somewhere else. Homura and Hitomi left her to think, it was important, it was personal, and it was something she would tell them if she wanted to.

She didn't even seem to notice much the gift when Homura gave it to her, cheeks pink and stutter in place as she explained her reasoning. Gave a thanks and stuffed the CD into her bag with barely a glance at it.

It stung, the lack of a reaction be it happy or bad towards the gift, but Homura tried to not let it get to her.

After several hours, they reached their station and it was time to head home.

"Miki-san, I was wondering if you would like to do something tomorrow after school?" Homura asked as the two got off the train, bags in hand. Her dear friend was still down and Homura still didn't know what she was down about.

There was a delayed reaction, as though Sayaka hadn't heard her right away, before the bluenette shook her head, "Sorry, I've got other stuff I'm going to be doing," she said, and offered her a forced smile, "How about another time though?"

"Sure, the day after then?"

"Yeah," Sayaka said, already walking in direction for home, hand raised up in a wave goodbye to Homura without even turning to look at her.

Raising her own hand up a little in a small wave, Homura mumbled quietly, "Goodbye…"

* * *

The next day was simply being tossed from a few days of fun and relaxation back into the boring setting of school. Same old boring routine as before the trip to Kazamino. School droned on slowly, Sayaka ate her lunch with Hitomi and Homura, Madoka ditched her for Mami, and it was the same as usual.

As bitter as it was to admit, Madoka choosing Mami over her had become so often an occurrence that it was  _normal_.

When school let out, Sayaka made her way to the hospital to visit Kyosuke. She had called him yesterday morning while packing up to see how he was doing, and how depressed he sounded. It tore her heart apart to hear his despondent answers in their short talk. It had also affected her mood for the rest of the day sadly, and she felt bad for being so lackluster the entire trip back.

Well, today she had a plan. She was going to bring Kyosuke's spirits back up and change that frown upside down. She'd gotten him a few CD's from Kazamino she thought that he might like, as well as a few candies she knew he enjoyed. Hopefully that would brighten his mood up by a bit, that's all she asked for.

"Hey, Kyosuke!" Sayaka said, peeking her head into the room, finding him lying down staring out the window like always. He didn't respond to her, so she walked in, pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed, "What, wishing you were a bird again?" she teased lightly.

Still no response, maybe he was sleeping? No, he was awake.

"Kyosuke?" she tried again, frowning, then set about rummaging through her bag, "Look, I got you some things from Kazamino I thought you might like. A few CD's and even a little keychain that seemed to suit you," she pulled out the mentioned items and held them out to him hoping to get his attention.

The unharmed arm reached over though he never looked, and Sayaka though he was going to take it. But instead it knocked the items out of her hands letting them fall to the floor.

"Kyosuke?"

He was shaking, with anger and sorrow, he was shaking, "Why do you keep doing this to me, Sayaka?" he demanded, his voice biting back his rage, "Do you get some amusement out of it? Out of reminding me that I can't play, that I can't do what I love to?"

Sayaka reached towards him helplessly, she hadn't meant to hurt him, what did she do wrong? "Kyosuke, I..."

"I  _really_ wanted to go on that trip, Sayaka, I had been looking forward to it since before the accident. But then you all went on it, and you kept texting me,  _rubbing it in my face_  that I was here and you were there!"

"Kyosuke, I didn't mean to- I just thought... I didn't think it would upset you!"

He finally turned to look at her, eyes full of anger and pain, "That's just it, you  _never_ think! God, you're so stupid!" he spat, his hand held tight to the hospital bed, fingers digging in, "I'm sick it Sayaka. I'm sick of the CD's you keep giving me, all the constant reminders that I'll never be  _normal_ again! My hand is never going to heal, I'm going to be in and out of the hospital all the time for physical therapy that doesn't do anything! And you think that I'll be kept happy by hearing the music I can't even play anymore every day?"

Kyosuke swiped his hand through the air in his anger, knocking down a glass of water and Sayaka watched it hit the ground and shatter.

"Kyosuke..." Sayaka began, eyes welling up with tears, his words hurt.

"Just get out."

Without saying another word, Sayaka turned and ran out of the hospital room and out of the hospital in general.

How could she have been so stupid as to not have noticed how much he hated what she did? How all her attempts to make him happy just made him angry? Was she really that oblivious? That selfish? Oh God, she was awful. Kyosuke probably hated her, God he was right, she was so stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Sayaka's head was swarming with a mix of emotions right now as she ran as far as she could from the hospital, trying to get as far away as though the more distance put between them would make her feel better.

"Mami-san, we should...not here..."

Sayaka came to a stop when she heard Madoka speaking farther ahead. Madoka... Madoka could make her feel better, even if she was with the upperclassmen, Sayaka would forgive her. She just needed her best friend right now, she needed something to tie her back down, tell her it was all right. She just needed  _someone_ to assure her that she hadn't screwed up with Kyosuke.

Rubbing away the tears that had run down her cheeks, she began following where she had heard Madoka speaking at. Sounded like Mami was with her too, no, that was okay. Sayaka would put away any animosity towards her for now. A white flag can be raised.

"Madoka! I'm so glad I ran into... you..."

Mami and Madoka broke away, both panting for breath as they stared at Sayaka like a pair of deer in headlights. Fresh bite marks dotted Madoka's neck and there was still a thin thread of saliva down Mami's chin as she hastily began re-buttoning her shirt.

It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

"S-Sayaka-chan!" Madoka said, wiping at her chin and taking a step towards her, but Sayaka was already walking away as quickly as she could.

Sayaka couldn't help the harsh sting of betrayal that clutched her chest. Could this day become any worse? Kyosuke hated her, Madoka was screwing Tomoe behind her back, what's next? Homura's secretly Rambo and stealing weapons from the Yakuza? Was Hitomi a backstabber too? The universe was out to get her, wasn't it? She'd done something to step on God's toes.

"Sayaka-chan, wait! Please, hold on!" Madoka pleaded, running after her with Mami a few steps behind.

"Why?" Sayaka snapped back as she descended the final steps to the train station, turning in place and glaring harshly and the girl, "Don't you want me out of your hair so you can go back to getting into Tomoe's skirt?" How had she not noticed this before? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Madoka made it down the steps, and took a step towards Sayaka, "I wanted to tell you, I really did!" she pleaded, hand stretched out to her.

"Well its great then that I went up and found out myself why my so called best friend kept ditching me! Now you can go back to screwing her without a guilty conscious!" The mental filter Sayaka would have had up had been destroyed by her anger to the point she didn't care if her words hurt Madoka or not. Better if they did hurt her, then maybe Madoka would have some idea of what it felt like.

Mami shook her head, trying to calm the situation unaware that anything she said would just fuel Sayaka's anger, "That's not, Miki-san that's not it," she tried to reason.

"Stay out of this, Tomoe," Sayaka snapped turning to face the blonde, her fists clenching, "You know what? Forget it! You two are a perfect pair! I hope you're real happy together, just stay the Hell away from me!" She spat, not bothering to let them get a word in as she angrily boarded the train. The two just stood there dumbstruck and watched it start moving.

After a minute, Sayaka brought her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms, thankful that the area she was in was empty. No one would be around to watch as she cried. In her mind she just kept chanting to herself like a self-deprecating mantra. _So stupid, so stupid, so stupid!_

It had started raining while she was in the train, though Sayaka didn't notice when she got out into it, her clothes becoming increasingly soaked, her slow steps not helping her. Her body was acting on it's own, her mind elsewhere in the pits of despair and self loathing to pay mind to where she was going.

When Homura opened the door, she must have saw the pained expression on Sayaka's face, but she didn't say anything about it. She just led Sayaka through the house into her bathroom, handing her some towels and set to work taking the water out of her hair and getting her into warm and dry clothes.

Sitting on her bed, Sayaka just broke down into sobs, hugging the one person she had left tightly, scared that if she let go Homura would leave. But she never left, she just kept quiet, hugging Sayaka back and talked to her though she never heard the words.

* * *

Thunder rang through the sky like a demons wrathful roar, and the fearful cries of several of the younger children echoed through the shelter as their parents tried to calm them. Some were able to succeed but many were unable to calm there scared children or make them believe that all was okay and it was just a game. The rain from the previous night never once did let up, instead it only got worse and worse until an announcement was made at seven in the morning telling all residents to evacuate to the storm shelter.

A supercell was fast approaching Mitakihara.

Sayaka still wasn't over the events from last night, but she was thankful for having Homura at her side the entire night. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but somewhere while she was crying, Sayaka had fallen asleep clinging to the ravenette, who had not once left her side until the announcement was made and she had to pack a bag of essentials to take to the shelter. It was mostly her medication, a few books to read while waiting for the storm to pass over and a couple of apples. Sayaka for her part had to get an earful from her mother when she checked her phone and saw all the missed calls and texts, and had to explain that she had spent the night with Homura.

The two had quickly made their way to the shelter, joining up with Sayakas parents.

"Hopefully it doesn't last long," Mrs. Miki said quietly, hand on her cheek as she looked at all the people still coming in. Her attention fell on Homura and she smiled, holding out a hand, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Akemi-san. Sayaka has said so much about you that I was waiting for when she'd bring you home. Though I would have rather not have our first meeting be because of a city emergency."

Giving a shy smile, Homura shook her hand, "It's a...It's a pleasure to meet you too, M-Miki-san."

Sayaka's mother gave a laugh when retracting her hand, "My, what a polite child," she said patting Sayaka's head, "You have a great choice in friends, you know that?"  _I wouldn't be so sure about that_ , Sayaka thought, mind going to Madoka. But she gave her mother a smile anyways.

Though, speak of the devil and he shall appear, or at the least his messenger will appear. Junko Kaname looked worried as she approached the group, eyes scanning around the crowds, "Sayaka, have you seen Madoka?" she asked.

"No, haven't seen her since yesterday," Sayaka answered, shaking her head, "Why? She not here?"

Junko shook her head, "I was hoping she came in with you," she admitted, "She said she was spending the night with a friend, and I assumed it was you."

She had spent the night with Mami then, and Sayaka held her tongue on that fact. She was probably still  _with_ Mami, doing something stupid no doubt. Maybe she should tell Junko, rat Madoka out and see how she likes it. She quickly shook that idea away, no she wanted to keep herself from being involved with Madoka as much as possible, doing that would do the opposite of that. "Sorry," Sayaka said shaking her head, "She wasn't with me, wish I could tell you more."

The business woman nodded her head, thanking Sayaka anyways before moving on to ask a few other of their classmates if they had seen any sight of Madoka. Sayaka felt a sharp pang of guilt for lying to Junko, but shook it off and turned her attention to Homura who had been watching the exchange.

"I hope she finds Kaname-san soon," Homura said, drawing her knees closer to herself, "The storms really bad, I wouldn't want anyone to be caught out in it."

With a laugh, Sayaka scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around Homura's shoulders and pulling the ravenette to her, "Relax, there's nothing to be worried about, she assured her, giving a comforting smile, "No ones going to get trapped out there. So why don't we do something to pass the time?"

Her response was a small nod and the two began occupying themselves for the next few hours with different activities. They read a bit from one of the books Homura brought, Sayaka began making up her own stories of knights and princesses and other heroic deeds after being bored with the ones Homura had brought. She had helped Homura sort through her medicine bag after a bit to find the right pill bottle when it was her medication time.

Eventually after what felt like forever, the rain began to ease up and the rumbling thunder started to fade into yawns. It seemed the storm would be over soon, and the occupants in the shelter couldn't be more happy to hear the good news. The storm had passed with little destruction to the city, most of it accumulated towards the edge of Mitakihara.

The corpses of Madoka Kaname and Mami Tomoe were found among the wreckage.


	7. Go Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how short this chapter is, we're back at the length we started with. 
> 
> Second, I am working on a new PMMM fic, or rather I have the first chapter done and four others roughly thought out. It's a KyouHomu (with a dash of KyouSaya, HomuSaya, MadoSaya and MadoHomu) and another AU. Homura is Homucifer, Kyouko is a pure pastors daughter who falls under Homucifers charm, Sayaka is a demon hunter, Madoka is still a goddess and the Clara Dolls are still little shits who throw tomatoes at everyone. Would anyone be willing to read it?

It had been a full week since the storm, since the fight... and since the deaths of Madoka and Mami. A melancholy had filled the school when classes resumed in the aftermath, students and teachers alike mourning for the loss of two of their own. Both girls had been well liked in both their grades, and they had been missed dearly. Many students had gone to the funerals and offered their condolences to the Kaname's. No one knew the truth of that night, but they didn't need to know the truth of what happened. Let them believe that the two girls died in result of the storm, not that they died protecting the city.

Of course many were taking the deaths hard, but some had taken it harder than others...

"Thank you for bringing her schoolwork and notes here," Chiyo Miki said, giving Homura a grateful smile as she leaned against the door frame and looked up the stairs. "She still hasn't left her room at all, poor child."

Homura followed the older woman's gaze, feeling a tug at her chest. Sayaka was one of the ones who took Madoka's death hard, no she was probably the one who took it the hardest. She hadn't left her house since Madoka and Mami were declared dead, and it seems she hadn't even left her room since then either.

She wanted to talk to Sayaka, see that she was okay, _help_ her so she would be okay.

"May... May I come in? I want... I would like to visit her," Homura asked shyly. Sayaka's mother just gave her a sad smile and moved aside for Homura to enter. A thankful nod in response as Homura slipped her shoes off and slowly made her way up the stairs towards Sayaka's room after being told where it was.

This would be her first time entering the bluenettes room, and she honestly would have wished it was under better conditions.

"Miki-san?" Homura asked uneasily, giving a light knock on the door before pushing it open and peeking inside when no response came.

The room was dim as the lights had been switched off and the curtains closed so as to let in as little of the sunshine as possible. Looking around for a moment, Homura soon spotted her friend buried under a pile of blankets. So placing the papers on the desk by the door, Homura took a few caution steps towards the bed.

"Miki-san?" She repeated.

"Go away."

Homura felt her heart flinch at the toneless answer, but didn't back off. Instead she sat at the edge of the bed and began peeling off the layers of blankets. "Miki-san... come on, you'll roast to death under all of those," she mumbled, hoping that a little joke would get something from the other. But it did nothing. "The class misses you, you know. Shizuki-san has been worried, and has been coming to visit too, or trying to. But I guess you already knew that."

She had been trying to visit Sayaka often too, coming over after school every day, but she, much like Hitomi, had never been able to get past the front door before today.

Soon the last sheet was pulled back and Sayaka was no longer hidden under the thick mountain of blankets. It pained her to see the girl she had come to care for so much in little over a month, the girl she had always came to view as strong and steady look so frail an vulnerable. Her eyes were still red and puffy from the crying, and her cheeks were still damp from the tears. She clung to the pillow which hid half of her face, glaring up at Homura for taking away her protection from the outside.

"Why won't you just go away?"

"I'm worried about you, I just-"

" _Just go away already_!" Sayaka yelled, shoving herself to sit up, and angrily repeated her previous question, "Why won't you just go away?"

This was the first time Sayaka had ever yelled at her, had ever shown so much anger at her and Homura was scared for a moment that she would physically lash out at her, "B-because you're my friend, Miki-san, I miss you!"

Sayaka just began laughing bitterly, "Friend? Some friend I am," she said, burying her face in the crook of her arm to try and prevent more tears from falling, "My best friend was keeping things from me, repeatedly ditched me, and the icing on the cake is that she's dead and it's my fault!"

"No, it wasn't your fault."

But Sayaka just gave her an empty smile, arm lowered so that Homura could see her face, see the fresh tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes showed clear all the pain and misery she had been feeling the past few days, no it was probably older than that. "You... you don't know what happened, Homura..." She whispered, "The night before... I... we got into a fight... I yelled at her... at Tomoe..." She could have reconciled this with Madoka if she hadn't lost her cool. Madoka could have still been alive, she could have still been with them.

She trembled slightly and opened her mouth to speak only to let out a choked sob, it wasn't until a few moments, or perhaps a few minutes, had passed that Sayaka managed to find her voice again though it was shaky. "Maybe if I hadn't... if I hadn't lost my cool... so they were dating... I overreacted, I... I could have done something. There had to have been something I could have done to keep her alive!"

Homura just watched with a pained expression before pulling Sayaka into her arms.

"I didn't know Kaname-san that well, and I know I can't replace her," she said, holding her close, running her fingers through Sayaka's short blue locks in what she hoped was relaxing or comforting to her, "But... but I know that Kaname-san wouldn't want you to blame yourself for this, wouldn't want to see you like this. What happened was an accident, a storm and there was nothing any of us could have done." Homura hoped with all her heart that her words were getting through to her and doing some good.

"Kaname-san was your best friend and I know I could never replace her but...but I'm not going to let you slip away!" she yelled, holding Sayaka tighter, and now fighting back tears of her own. She could feel her friend stiffen in her arms, "I just... I don't want to lose you... So _please_ , Sayaka, don't push me away."

Sayaka was silent for a moment, but was soon returning the hug, clinging to Homura tightly as though her life depended on it. She had buried her face into Homura's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably into the increasingly damp fabric. Sobbing out 'sorry' though it was near unintelligible, and Homura just whispered words of comfort, telling her it would be okay over and over again.

She'd get through this, and Homura would help her every step of the way.


	8. Normalis Conatus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay, I've had issues coming up that prevented me from writing. But here you go, one new chapter piping hot.
> 
> Also, I am still working on the KyouHomu story, I was planning on posting the first two chapters last week but for the same reason I was delayed in writing this also affected that.

The next day would find Sayaka on her way to school after what had felt like so long. She had Homura, who had gone out of her way in the morning to meet Sayaka at her door and walk with her, at her side. It felt strange being out in the morning sun, how long had it been since she'd left her house? Only a week but not long enough for everything to have this foreign feel to it. In her heart, she had been looking forward to walking to school with Madoka again. Been hoping to ever since they had stopped after what must have been a little over a month ago.

But now she never would be able to, would she?

"Miki-san?" Homura said, breaking her from her own thoughts. The girls face was scrunched up in concern and worry, so Sayaka put on a fake smile for her. She didn't want Homura to worry over her any more than she already had.

"It's nothing, really," she said, waving it off and quickening her pace a tad. "Come on, I don't want to be late on my first day back."

With that, Sayaka took off with a light jog. Homura watched her go for a few steps before giving a light and small smile, following after with her own steps a little quicker while Sayaka waited ahead of her for the ravenette to catch back up.

* * *

The class had been friendly enough in welcoming Sayaka back, careful not to make mention of anything that could upset her. The topic of Madoka was a taboo around her and for the most part, they all seemed to be trying to lighten her spirits, even if by a little.

It seemed that seeing Kyosuke had not only been released from the hospital, but rejoined their class had helped to brighten Sayaka's mood. Having one of her oldest friends with her again could do a lot, especially if said friend was one whom Sayaka had a crush on.

Homura couldn't help but feel a small pang of bitterness and jealousy at this, but had shoved it away. If he made Sayaka happy, then she herself was happy.

Sayaka would continue help Homura out in P.E, beg Hitomi for help on an assignment, and her, Hitomi and Sayaka would eat lunch together again. Though Kyosuke had now joined them, much to the delight of the other two girls and the four of them got along naturally. Homura was actually quite proud of how quickly she and Kamijou had clicked, telling each other stories of their own hospital experiences.  _'Oh, God, don't get me started on the dreaded sponge baths!'_ Kyosuke complained dramatically, earning a laugh from the group.

It seemed like things had become  _normal_ again.

Sayaka seemed happier too, emphasis on 'seemed' though. Homura never once failed to notice the occasional melancholy in Sayaka's eyes, the bitter smile she held, or how she would look out with a distant look on her face. She still missed Madoka, and Homura didn't blame her one bit. While she wasn't upset or in a depressive slump anymore, the young girl wasn't truly happy, but she was getting there and Homura would do what she could to help her just as she had promised.

"Goodbye, Shizuki-san, Kamijou-san," Homura said at the end of the day as the four split up to take their own ways home. Well, Kyosuke and Hitomi did, Homura and Sayaka were going to visit the shopping district after Homura 'suggested' that Sayaka spend some time doing something she enjoyed.

While walking down the street, Sayaka with her bag slung over her shoulder, joking about this and that, she paused as though realizing that. "Hey, Homura," she began, catching the dark haired girls attention, "You know, I never did thank you for that CD you got me in Kazamino." To be truthful, she'd never even bothered to give it a care at that time, or even say a word about it, and Sayaka did feel bad for how rude she had been on that subject.

"Oh, it's nothing, really, Miki-san," Homura assured her with a wave of the hand and a faint pink hue to her cheeks, "It was just a...a thank you gift, you know, for the gift you gave me earlier."

"Still," Sayaka said rubbing the back of her neck. Why was Homura back to calling her Miki-san? She didn't like it. "I still want to say thanks."

Homura hummed and opened the door to the music store they always visited, "Well then, you're welcome," this earned a grin as the girl entered, and the two made their way to browse the CDs just like always. Sayaka looking for anything new and Homura looking for anything that might catch her interest before they went to the headsets to listen to the sample music playing that day.

The two did this for the next few hours, visiting their usual places and browsing through the selections. Sayaka sent a quick call home to let her parents know that she wouldn't be back till sometime later as they stopped by a burger joint for a bite to eat.

Though Homura tried to insist that she had enough money on hand to buy her own meal, Sayaka would have none of that and had Homura pick a table for them while she ordered. A few minutes later she would slide into the usual booth and place Homura's usual burger across from her.

She did do one thing different than their normal routine by placing a large milkshake between them with two straws in it.

"I wanted to try it, new flavor and all, and figured it'd be cheaper to just buy one big one to share then two small ones for us," Sayaka explained upon Homura's silent question, taking a bite from her own cheese burger after that as though sharing a shake didn't mean much.

They filled the air after that with idle chitchat. Sayaka asking for copies of Homura's notes over the days she'd missed school, some things they'd seen while shopping. Nothing important and just general carefree talk.

Sometime later, their food wass done and the milkshake almost gone. "Hey, Miki-san," Homura started.

"Sayaka."

Blinking curiously, Homura looked up to see Sayaka's gaze boring into her. "W-what?"

"Call me Sayaka, we're friends, aren't we?" she explained as though it were logical, and perhaps it was, "You called me Sayaka before, but now you're back to Miki-san. So come on, Homs."

Homura's face was red in embarrassment as she began stuttering out. Yes, that night she'd comforted Sayaka, she'd called her by the first name, but Homura hadn't really been paying much attention at the time, or had even thought about it. So now, she tried to choke down her nervousness to do what was asked of her, "S-Sa...S-Sayaka."

The smile on her friends face was unimaginably large, pure delight at that one small thing, "See!" Sayaka said, reaching across the table to lightly hit Homura upon the shoulder, "That didn't kill you!"

Homura just gave a weak laugh as she glanced at her watch. "It's getting kind of late, Mi- Sayaka," she said, quickly correcting herself before she could complete the mistake, making a mental note to get used to saying Sayaka instead of Miki-san "We should head home."

Sayaka just gave a disgruntled mutter, the sun was still up yes, but they both had homework they still needed to get done. Sayaka had quite a bit actually compared to Homura, and she wasn't particularly looking forward to the Hellish papers.

" _Fine_ ," she groaned, slumping in her seat, before looking up at Homura, "You know...this was nice," she said after a pause, looking back down, "Thanks, for...you know...trying to make things normal again."

Homura just responded with a soft, embarrassed smile, looking away, "You're welcome."

* * *

The next day wasn't terribly different from the previous one. They had class, ate lunch together, the same as before, though Homura had to leave after lunch due to an eye appointment. Still, Sayaka would find herself staring at an empty desk in the classroom.

Madoka's desk, her heart would clench painfully just at the mere mention of the name.

She tried her best to keep Madoka out of mind, and sometimes it worked.

The distractions the others gave her was helpful too in making her forget, even if it were temporary. It was also pretty nice to be able to hang with Kyosuke outside of a hospital, though she had been hurt a short while at him not telling her about his discharge, she shook it off. Too much had happened, he'd likely forgotten to tell her, not that she was in any state to care during that time anyways. She was glad he was doing better and was back in school. But she couldn't help but feel a little jealous by the amount of anonymous love letters he still got.

The thought that maybe she should make her move and confess to him had crossed her mind a few times.

But the most obvious thing she'd noticed during her return to school was she couldn't help but find herself feeling... _better_  when around Homura. It was as though the girl just had a calming, healing air around her. Even if she did nothing, even if she wasn't around, if Sayaka started feeling the return of the painful and crippling sorrow, Homura would somehow snap her out of it before it even became visible.

As awful as it was to admit it, Sayaka had a gut feeling that if it hadn't been for Homura, she likely wouldn't even be here anymore. Madoka's death would have hit her harder, or perhaps the abandonment would have hit harder. She just knew that things would have been  _worse_  if Homura hadn't been there for her.

A nagging voice in the back of her mind told her that she would probably not even be breathing.

"I doubt I'll ever be able to show her just how much I appreciate all she's done," Sayaka muttered as she walked down the path. It had been a while since she'd last walked home alone, she had grown so accustomed to having Homura at her side on the way to and from school that it felt odd not to have her there. Maybe she'll make a detour to stop by Homura's house on the way home, see how the eye appointment went.

However, Sayaka soon came to a stop, eyes landing on a pair sitting at the bench by the water with their backs turned so they wouldn't be able to see those who walked. Sayaka was able to quickly recognize green and silver hair, along with the crutches leaning against the bench.

She slid behind the stone junction to watch Hitomi and Kyosuke talking. They were sitting rather close,  _too_ close Sayaka noted.

Her hand begin digging into the side of her skirt and into her leg as she watches. Hitomi has her hands rested on Kyosuke's cheeks, pulling him closer though the former prodigy doesn't seem to be resisting. His hands actually come to rest on her sides, leaning closer to her.

Sayaka can feel her heart pick up rapidly in fear and disbelief. Her mind chanting  _'No, no, no!_ _'_  like a mantra. Hitomi  _knew_  of her feelings for Kyosuke, so why was this happening?

They kiss.

Sayaka takes off running.


	9. Matters of the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, sorry, sorry. I forgot to post this chapter on here and didn't realize until I was about to post the next chapter. Sorry everyone, but hey, you're getting two chapters in one on here.

It was almost like a mirroring to the night Sayaka discovered Madoka and Mami's relationship.

Homura had been curled up on her couch reading a book she'd been meaning to finish with an empty glass of juice on the coffee table, her glasses replaced with a pair of disposable contacts she'd gotten at the clinic that day. She was planning to surprise and even impress Sayaka with her new look at school tomorrow, and hoped the girl liked it. Like the night before the storm, a loud banging on her door once again pulled her away from her book.

With the book closed and on the couch, Homura made her way to the door curious of who was there at this hour. Glancing into the peephole, she quickly opened the door to let her friend in.

Sayaka had instantly crumpled against Homura, her arms locked around the other's thin frame as she cried. Homura was barley able to get the door shut, and ever grateful she didn't fall under Sayaka's weight. She certainly didn't know what was wrong with her, and stumbled through the house with Sayaka still clinging to her as she made it to the couch.

"What happened?" she asked, rubbing circles into Sayaka's back to try and calm her cries. Her shoulder was getting wet but she didn't care.

There was a struggle to get coherent words out as she choked on her own tears, "W-walking home...saw...K-Kyosuke and Hi...Hitomi... Hi...tomi...she..." she said, her words broken by the cries and only a few were comprehensible, and she clung to Homura even tighter, "S-saw...Backstabber...she k-knew...she  _knew_!"

It took Homura a little bit to piece together what Sayaka said before understanding dawned on her. Though really, Hitomi and Kyosuke together? Surprising, but now that she thought of it with those longing looks between them or how they acted around each other, it made sense. The briefest moment of satisfaction at the news sprung up in her chest only to be smothered as quickly as it came.

Sayaka had just had her heart ripped out and stomped on by two of her friends who were unaware of doing so. It wasn't something she should feel triumphant about.

Why did this keep happening to her though? Had Sayaka done something to piss off whatever omnipotent being in the sky that she was cursed to go through all of this? Everyone she was close to, that she had known for almost her whole life left or betrayed her one way or another. Madoka left her, and now Hitomi betrays her by taking Kyosuke out from under her nose?

It hurt, but Sayaka... she knew in her heart the whole time. Like Homura, she had seen the way her two friends looked at each other, the way they spoke to each other. Whenever Hitomi was mentioned when Sayaka visited the hospital, whenever Kyosuke was mentioned when talking to Hitomi. She had just refused to acknowledged it until it was blatantly thrust into her face. Didn't make it any less painful, knowing only seemed to make it hurt even more.

Did she ever even have a chance at Kyosuke?

"I'm...I'm such an idiot," she hiccuped, at least the crying had subsided enough that she was speaking coherently, "I...I should have k-know better...to think a lame girl like m-me could ever... ever get someone like Kyosuke. I'm f-fucking pathetic."

Sayaka burrowed her head in Homura's neck and continued to cry her heart out as Homura kept tenderly rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe her.

"That's not true," her friend murmured, and Sayaka drew her head up to look at her with teary, bloodshot eyes, "You're a wonderful person, you're sweet, kind, and funny too. You'll find someone who loves you, who adores you, and Kamijou-kun wasn't that person."

"But...but Homura...I  _loved_ him," Sayaka protested weakly.

Homura just hummed in response, pulling Sayaka against her once more and resuming her comforting touches, "I know...I know..." she whispered, though internally she winced at Sayaka's confession, but she kept going. She would try to soothe Sayaka's aching heart. "We're still young, you have your whole life ahead of you to find someone to fill his place in your heart, a whole life still to find someone you love even more."

In response, Sayaka just buried her face back into Homura's shoulder. There was a small, rational part of her brain telling her that Homura was right. But being right didn't make getting over it easy.

"You can still have him in you're life," Homura continued, brushing some blue locks of hair from Sayaka's wet cheeks, "Just because you can't have him, doesn't mean he has to leave from your life. You two can still be friends, nothing has to change between you."

"That'll just make it hurt more."  _Everything_ will change between them.

Maybe it would, certainly it would. Homura knew the pain of having the one you want so close but so far away first hand. But even so, she wouldn't want to throw what she already had with Sayaka away to be rid of the pain. But she couldn't speak for everyone and she knew that. Some would prefer to have the one they love as far from them if they didn't love them back.

"If it does it wont last forever, the pain will fade away," Homura answered softly, they had both been speaking softly as though anything louder than a whisper would bring trouble. "Wouldn't never being able to speak with him, or spend time with him hurt even more?"

Again, she was right, and again, the rational part of Sayaka's mind agreed. She wasn't sure she'd be able to handle being cut off from him completely.

This time, Sayaka even verbally agreed.

"You're right, Homs," she murmured, giving a laugh. Forced and bitter, trying to convince herself over anything else, "There's plenty of fish in the sea and we're only in middle school. Sides... he'd probably be the kind that'd stand up dates once he finds something to replace the violin."

At her answer, Homura let out a relived sigh. It was better than nothing at least, and it meant that she was at least willing to move on, right? There was still one last loose end to tie up, "I'm certain that neither of them would have wanted to hurt you, they care too much for you to have wanted that," she said. Sure, she didn't know Kyosuke as well as Sayaka did, but he had seemed to nice of a boy to want to put Sayaka through a heartbreak. "Maybe all three of you need to clear the air?"

There was a pause, and soon enough Sayaka was nodding her head against Homura in reluctant agreement.

"You're right...you're right... always right," Sayaka mumbled tiredly, the crying, the heartbreak, it had all left her physically drained, "I'll... talk to them tomorrow about this...I'll try to," she wasn't sure if she'd be able to look at them the same way tomorrow. If she'd be able to keep calm about it all, she wasn't known for being able to control her emotions. But Homura would be there for her tomorrow like she always is, ready to hold and comfort Sayaka should she fall apart.

Ready to keep her from doing something stupid that'd make her hurt more.

For the first time that night, Sayaka actually looked at Homura, rubbing away the tears that blurred her vision. She hadn't noticed till now that Homura wasn't wearing her red rimmed glasses and now Sayaka could look at her eyes with nothing blocking them.

Had Homura's eyes always been such a beautiful color?

"Where...where are your glasses?" she asked distractedly, looking around the coffee table for the object and to keep herself from staring, her brain slowly returning to it's normal settings and concern for Homura coming up, "You're eyes must hurt without them."

Homura blinked and shook her head, "Oh, they're in my room, I got contacts."

At the explanation, Sayaka stopped her search and let out an 'oh'. That made sense, of course Homura wouldn't have not been wearing them without a reason. Her cheeks then turned pink as she realized she was still clinging onto Homura and quickly let go to give the girl some space and an silence enveloped the two. Neither sure what to say now that it was all calmed down.

It was after a full minute had passed that Homura spoke up, glancing at the clock as she did so, "Would you like to stay for dinner before going home?" she asked. Though it wouldn't be anything fancy, and likely something instant, the least she could do was make Sayaka dinner and not send her home hungry.

"Actually," Sayaka said in an uncharacteristically small voice, "Can I stay here? For the night?" she looked down at her lap. She'd never spent the night with Homura, and a part of her was expecting her to say no, but it never came. Her friend just gave her a gentle smile and nodded her head.

"You can borrow my clothes, they might not be a great fit, but you'll need something to wear. If you don't have your phone, you can use mine to call home too."

* * *

"Do I really have too?" Sayaka asked the next day, looking at Homura as the two approached Hitomi and Kyosuke. She really didn't want to be here, she didn't want to confront either of them, but Homura had made it clear that she needed to talk to them and not let any bad feelings simmer.

Homura glanced at her but didn't slow her pace, "You need to talk to them," she said simply. Sayaka would talk to them and she would act as a mediator in case it got physical, and to offer Sayaka support.

Who knew what could happen if Sayaka didn't sort this out now?

For their part, it seemed the couple were unaware of Sayaka's knowledge of them, and when Homura had called them up earlier that day asking to meet, she didn't give much hints to them either of what this would be about. So they greeted the two with a smile and wave when noticing the approaching friends unaware of the storm about to come.

"Homura-san, Sayaka-san," Hitomi said with a small nod, still smiling, "What was it you needed to see us about?"

At the question, Homura nudged Sayaka forward gently, "Sayaka needs to talk to you too," she explained, and though she would have been fine staying near them, she was soon walking away to sit on a park bench within sight but out of earshot at Sayaka's insistent that this be private.

"Eh? What'd you need?" Kyosuke asked, attention focused on Sayaka and then reeled back in surprise at Sayaka's mixed expression, his own hands reaching towards her in worry, "Are you okay? What happened?"

Sayaka was quiet for a moment, wishing she could have left then and there, but knew she couldn't. She then looked back up at her two oldest friends, and felt the pain and anger rise up again, to fast to react or repress it as a glare came to fix on Hitomi, and she said the first thing that came to mind, "You...You're a traitor, Hitomi!"

"What?" Hitomi asked, stepping back in surprise, alarm clearly on her face. She didn't understand what Sayaka was accusing her of.

"About Kyosuke!" Sayaka snapped, fighting back her rising anger, but she couldn't win against it. A dam had once again broken within her, and all her emotions were flowing out ready to drown Sayaka in them, "You knew, but you...you took him!"

There was a spark of realization and then a draining of color on Hitomi's face in response to Sayaka's words. "You...You know?" she asked in confusion and surprise, "Oh God, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry! I, we wanted to tell you, we really did!"

Though it was Hitomi who said it, it wasn't her voice that Sayaka , she just heard a beloved pink haired girl who had said the exact thing not long ago.

And it made her feel worse.

_'I wanted to tell you, I really did!'_

_'Well, it's great then that I went and found out myself why my so called best friend kept ditching me! Now you can go back to screwing her without a guilty conscious!'_

_'That's not, Miki-san that's not it-'_

_'Stay out of this, Tomoe!'_

"Then when exactly were you two 'planning' to tell me? Before or after I found you two making out without a single care?" Sayaka demanded, and saw the two of them flinch at hearing of how she learned of their little secret. It felt good seeing them recoil like that.

Kyosuke then wobbled up on his crutches in an attempt to appease her, hoping he wasn't as much a target of anger as Hitomi was, "Sayaka, please I don't understand why you're upset, Shizuki-san and I are dating, why does it bother you so much?" so he truly was so dense to have never once noticed how Sayaka felt about him. How had he ever came to notice Hitomi's feelings then?

"Why I'm upset? Why wouldn't I be when Hitomi  _knew_ I liked you!" Sayaka yelled, her anger erasing any internal filter she may had that would have prevented the confession. Really, she didn't care now if he knew or not, it didn't matter anyways, "There, it's out! I've been in love with you for God knows how long, and she knew it! Instead of being a good friend and maybe giving me a chance to confess, she went and got together with you behind my back instead!"

There was a look of surprise and disbelief on Kyosuke's face at her declaration and he turned to Hitomi, as though wanting a confirmation that Sayaka had feelings for him. "You... all this time you've," he began, unsure how to even say it. How was he even supposed to react to this?

Hitomi at least had the decency to look guilty and ashamed as she looked away, unable to meet Sayaka's anger filled gaze. She gave a small nod of confirmation to Kyosuke, who in turn brought his hand up to his head as though still trying to come to terms with it.

Was the idea of Sayaka having feelings for him so terrible that he couldn't even process the thought?

Sayaka felt her shoulders slump in defeat, feeling the energy begin to leave her, "Kyosuke, just...just tell me this," she said, anger gone and her tone just... empty, "Did I ever have a chance? If I had come to you first and confessed, would you have at least considered it?"

His expression answered her question before his words did, "Sayaka, look," he began tentatively, not wanting to spark another bout of anger, "You're one of my best friends, one I've had for the longest I can remember, since we were little kids even."

"But only that, huh."

"I'm sorry, really, I am," Kyosuke said, stepping towards her, "I care a lot about you, Sayaka, I really do, love you even. Just...not in the same way you do. Can we still be friends, please?"

Sayaka was silent for a short while, looking up at his pleading eyes and then at the ground. She never did have a chance with him, at least she knew now that it was never to be, but still... it hurt.

"I can't...it's not going to be the same as before,"  _it'll feel like a knife to the heart every time I see you with Hitomi,_ "But... Someone told me that... I still have a whole life ahead of me to find someone to replace you in my heart. And it's... it's clear that there wont ever be you and me." As she said that, her mind went back to what Homura had told her the previous night to try and aid her. 'Yo _u two can still be friends.'_ Maybe she was right, no Homura was always right.

There was a relieved look look on Kyosuke's face at them having been able to salvage their friendship. However, it wasn't going to be as easy for Hitomi who still looked caught in guilt, and Sayaka's somber expression turned angry again.

"I still can't believe you did that to me," she hissed.

Hitomi took a frightful step back, "Sayaka-san, I'm sorry, I really am sorry," she pleaded, "I didn't think...I thought you were over him!"

"Over him?" Sayaka almost laughed at her excuse, and took a small step forward towards her before leaning back again. She didn't want to risk turning this physical, even if the notion of punching Hitomi in the face sounded good right now, "What made you think I wasn't in love with him anymore?"

"Because of Homura!"

That made her stop, and Sayaka stared wide eyed in confusion at Hitomi, "Homura?" she asked, glancing over to where the ravenette sat watching, unable to hear the exchange, "What?"

Hitomi was near out of breath, probably the mix of emotions she was having herself, "I...a lot of people actually... we thought you and Homura were you know," her face turned pink and she gestured to the two, "We thought, I thought, you two were dating."

Sayaka's anger was gone, quickly replaced with a stuttering alarm and she did a double take, "What? Us, together? Dating?" she asked, and watched Hitomi nod in confirmation, even Kyosuke had a sheepish look on his face, believing the same thing Hitomi had, "How? Where did you guys get that from?" her face was bright red now at the notion. She'd never actually considered... No! What was she thinking, that idea was just ridiculous!

"Well, you two are always together, you walk home together, go almost everywhere together," Hitomi began slowly, "And if she's not around, you never stop thinking about her, worrying over if she's okay, or talking about something she did."

"T-that's just because of h-her health that I worry!" Sayaka defended herself. She knew she worried about Homura when the girl was not around, but had she done it so often that others began to assume the two were an item? She just wanted to be a good friend and know that Homura was okay! "But even so, how did that make it OK for you to move in on Kyosuke?"

"If you were dating Homura, then there wouldn't have been a problem with me dating Kyosuke, plain and simple!" That made sense, and Sayaka hated having to accept that logic.

Kyosuke looked over at Homura and rubbed his chin, "Well, she  _is_ pretty cute..." this remark earned him a light slap on the arm from Hitomi and a pointed glare from Sayaka, "Hey! I'm just saying! If I'd known her during my time at the hospital I'd probably have had a crush on her." Another slap and another glare.

Hitomi, and even Kyosuke went on and on with different things that they'd noticed which led to the misunderstanding about Homura and Sayaka before the bluenette finally sighed, having grown tired of it. Besides, any more and her face would have heat rivaling the suns.

"Look, we're just  _friends_ , alright?" Sayaka asked, watching as they nodding in confirmation, "Nothing more, nothing less, friends. God, I hope not a lot of people made the same mistake as you two," she muttered the last part, a hand to her face. The strange turn in their conversation had completely eradicated her anger to the point that she couldn't muster any up at them even if she tried. At least she couldn't bring herself to be  _too_ upset with Hitomi knowing her reasons.

Guess she didn't  _intentionally_ betray Sayaka and stab her in the back. So she could be forgiven with some reluctance.

"But," Hitomi said, a finger on her chin, "You two are rather cute together." Forgiven with a  _lot_ of reluctance if she kept this up.

"Hitomi."

"And I think you would make a good couple."

" _Kyosuke_!"

Hitomi just giggled at Sayaka's increasingly red face, shaking her head, in response to her playful teasing, "Well, while it's pretty unlikely to happen, it is something to keep in mind I think."

Sayaka responded with a groan, turning around and trudging towards where Homura sat, "Hitomi, we're never getting together. I'm straight, Homura's straight, it's not happening," she grumbled tiredly, shoulders sagged. She was still grateful, however, for the lighter turn. things could have gone a lot worse, but at least this way, they could remain friends.

It hurt, God did it hurt having to accept how things were now, but not as much as she expected it too.


	10. You're Giving Me A Heart Attack

"You really didn't have to come with me," Sayaka said, watching Homura out of the corner of her eye as they walked, her brow scrunched up in worry, "I mean, you said you weren't feeling that well this morning, you really don't have to push yourself for me. I'm fine on my own so you can go home and rest if you want to, if you need to."

Homura shook her head in response, "My stomach just didn't like my breakfast is all, and some fresh air is what I need is all," after that she gave Sayaka a worried look of her own, "Besides, I can't leave you on your own. You may say you're fine, but I still worry."

What she was worried about was what had happened the previous day with Sayaka, Hitomi, and Kyosuke. It had ended decently but still when the two had returned to Homura's apartment after resolving the conflict, Sayaka had broken down crying once again. Kyosuke had confirmed that even if Sayaka had asked him out first, she would have been turned down. He saw her as a friend and only that, and it had hurt so much. But Homura just held her and let her cry it out, telling her everything would be alright and even offered to let Sayaka stay the night again which the latter had refused.

Oddly enough, it hadn't hurt as bad as she had expected it to.

And even if she had been so upset and angry at them, Sayaka was still happy she could keep her friendship with them intact. She didn't want to make the same mistake as she had with Madoka and not be able to save their friendship. She would have not been able to handle repeating that again.

It was good the others wanted it as badly as she did.

When Sayaka had returned home later that night, she'd received texts from both Hitomi and Kyosuke, asking to talk about it some more. Work out any lingering issues that could hurt them in the future.

Maybe in a different time with a different Sayaka, she would have bitterly ignored their attempts for further appeasement. She did after all have a terrible trait of lashing out when angry without a care of who got hurt in the process or if she hurt herself more in the end. But this one in the here and now wanted to make amends just as much as they did and so that nasty trait never showed its head that night. All night and well past midnight the three texted, eventually slipping into the familiar jokes and safety before going off for bed.

Of course the three had a long way to go before they could be as close as they could without the awkwardness and tension, but it was better than animosity.

Sayaka also never did tell Homura about Hitomi's reasoning behind confessing to Kyosuke. She doubted she'd be able to explain it to the girl, it was too embarrassing. It would have probably been too much for the other too.

Still, what Hitomi had said... she and Homura? Together, as in a couple? she had thought about it a lot yesterday and it was a foreign idea but...she didn't exactly  _hate_  the idea.

What did that mean? Did it even mean anything?

"Nah, it probably means nothing."

"What does?" Homura asked, looking at her curiously.

Sayaka swore to herself as her cheeks began to heat up in embarrassment, did she say that out loud? Stupid, stupid! Pay more attention! "Oh? Uhh," her mind quickly raced for any excuse and she shrugged lightly trying to play it off as nothing, "Ah, it's nothing to worry about, just thinking about stuff. Anyways, what do you say we get a shake?"

Her friend pursed her lips at the topic change, but let it go, "Only if you're paying."

"Aren't I always paying when I offer?"

"Shouldn't offer if you don't plan to pay for it."

"Maybe if you offered now and then instead of being stingy."

There was a pause before the two began laughing, shaking their heads with smiles at the friendly banter. Simple playful exchanges like that were just one of the many things that they found so enjoyable despite its simplicity. Then again the two would find enjoyment just by being in the others presence so it wasn't odd that the previous one would be found fun.

"Fine, fine, I'll pay for it and not be 'stingy' this time around," Homura said, still smiling. Sayaka would never get tired of watching her smile, it was like Homura's smiles could light up the whole world. "Sayaka? Sa-ya-ka, you there?" Homura asked, her smile dropping into a worried frown as she waved a hand in front of the others face.

Blinking in response of being dragged from her thoughts, Sayaka pushed her hand away, "Huh? What?"

"You were staring at me with a dopey smile. What's going on in that head of yours?"

Cheeks began to redden once again, she hadn't even realized she'd been staring. Damn, Homura must have found it pretty weird. This was all because of Hitomi, wasn't it? Oh well, Sayaka would get over it sooner or later, "Never mind that, we've got shakes to drink and you just said you'll pay!" Sayaka said brushing it off and sprinting ahead.

"You are so weird," Homura said, shaking her head and chuckling to herself as she quickened her own pace to catch up. She'd have to scold Sayaka about spacing out later and how it'd be bad if she walked into a pole or something because of it. But truthfully, that was just another thing that Homura came to like about her friend, so maybe she wouldn't scold her...too much at least.

They still had about ten minutes before they reached their designation and there was no real rush to get there so they took their time. The walk was mostly filled with idle talk with some jokes Sayaka threw in here and there. But after a while, Homura came to a stop, a sudden wave of nausea coming over her. It was the same feeling that would come and go the past few days, only this one was  _stronger_. And it wasn't fading away.

_Ba-dum_

Sayaka came to a stop a few steps ahead of her, turning back and looking at her with worry, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's...It's nothing," Homura mumbled the life, her voice clearly strained as she placed a hand almost reflexively on her chest and forced herself to start walking again.

_Ba-dum_

She only made it one step before staggering and grasping the sidewalks trash bin for support to keep from falling over as her legs nearly gave out under her. The world was spinning around Homura as she felt all the blood rush to her head. Her grip on her chest tightened, nails digging into the fabric and into her skin. She could feel pain start shooting up from her back and winding all the way to her jaw, and she understood the signs, understood what was happening.

_Ba-dum_

"Homura!"

Sayaka rushed forward, catching her just in time as Homura fell over, her thin frame crumpling against Sayaka's sturdier one as the latter sank to her knees so Homura wouldn't have to stand. Still holding and supporting the dark haired girls trembling form against her own. "Homura! Homura, what's wrong?"

As much as she tried, Homura could only let out gasps and groans of pain, unable to get any words out. She could feel white hot pain course through her torso, and her chest felt like it was constricting...crushing itself inside of her. Why was this happening?

_Ba-dum, ba-dum_

Terrified, Sayaka had fished out her phone and had already dialed the needed numbers, muttering a harsh 'hurry' like a mantra until she heard the operator pick up on the other end. "Hello? Yes, this is Miki Sayaka, my friend needs an ambulance right away!" she practically yelled into the phone, still holding Homura close to her.

There were pedestrians circled around them, muttering to each other in worry and fright over what was happening, not that Sayaka ever noticed one. Her focus was only on the phone and on Homura in her arms, she could care less that people were looking at them like some kind of attraction.

"Mommy, what's going on?" a kid asked from somewhere in the crowd.

"It's...don't look darling... dear God..."

"Someone call an ambulance!"

Sayaka continued to ignore them, the crowds mutterings weren't any different then those. Wondering what happened and shocked by what they saw but not doing anything but watching. She just glanced down at Homura and her worry grew at seeing the glazed over and unfocused look in her eyes.

She repeatedly mumbled to Homura to 'Stay with me,' and 'They're coming, helps coming' hoping it would offer some comfort in between answering the operators questions. "Fourteen. ...Yes she does ...Some kind of heart condition, she never told me the specifics ...Yes, she took her damn meds, I watched her do it! How long until the ambulance gets here?!" Her anger was flaring up with each question. Why wasn't that stupid ambulance here already? Five more minutes? That was too long, they needed to go faster! Homura could be dying in her arms for all she knew!

Almost in response to that very thought, Homura let out a particularly painful groan, her breathing becoming even more ragged. The color had already left her skin, leaving her a sickly white tone though it glistened with sweat.

No, no, no, no! Don't think that! Homura was going to be okay! She's not going to die!

Sayaka quickly shook her head at the thought, not even hearing the operator until she was jolted back to reality by the yell through the phone, "What? Yes, yes," she said.

She looked up when a man in a business suit crouched down beside them, giving him a suspicious look and pulled Homura closer to her out of a protective instinct. What was he planning to do? But the man just gave her a worried look, glancing between her and Homura. Oh. He was just wanting to try to help.

At Sayakas non-verbal 'go ahead', he began wiping at Homura's forehead with a handkerchief, collecting the sweat from it and mumbling to her that she'd be OK. All Homura could do was groan weakly in response.

After what felt like forever, the sirens became audible and soon the ambulance pulled up. The man backed away from them and the crowd parted like the Red Sea for them as the paramedics raced out with a stretcher and a few other things that Sayaka didn't recognize. Sayaka didn't want to let Homura go, but she allowed them take her from her arms and place Homura on the stretcher.

She hovered over them best she could as they did their job, watching as Homura was hooked up to a few different machines. An oxygen mask was placed over Homura's face, an IV was attached to both the stretcher and Homura, and soon they were bringing her into the vehicle. The female of the pair barely even managed to finish asking Sayaka before the girl was climbing in with them and sitting next to Homura.

Homura wasn't moving, and Sayaka's panic and fear was making her on the verge of tears.

The paramedics with her were talking to each other in hushed voices, probably to try and not alarm Sayaka, and they were continuously checking on Homura. They could have tried hiding their fear a bit more if they wanted to assure Sayaka that Homura was fine.

She wanted to reach out and take Homura's hand, or even just a brief touch, but she wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. She didn't want to get in the medics way, not here, not now.

Soon they were at the hospital and Homura was being quickly wheeled out and in to the building. Sayaka following right behind them for as far as she could, determined to stay by Homura's side the entire time, but she only made it as fair as the ER entrance before a nurse intercepted her and Sayaka had to watch Homura get farther and farther away, eventually out of sight as they turned a corner.

"Miss, do you have her information?"

What?Information? Oh, right, "Akemi Homura, she was a patient here before... um... two months ago, more or less?" Sayaka answered, watching the nurse jot it down, and answered any other questions she could. There wasn't much that she could tell her and it made Sayaka feel useless. The nurse then left when all was done, instructing her to stay in the waiting room for the time being.

So now she had to play the waiting game, was there anything crueler?

Sayaka tried to occupy her time the best she could; pacing around the near empty room, sitting down and fiddling with her hands, and biting on her nails. A terrible habit she knew but it was one she did when nervous and scared, and that described her best right now. Time passed by at an agonizingly slow pace, and eventually Sayaka's parents arrived. At least she now had company to wait with, not that it did any good.

"Sayaka, please relax, she'll be okay," Chiyo said, taking Sayaka's hand in her own, trying to ease her daughters worry but it wasn't much good.

More time passed on, and if the hands on the clock were to be believed it was almost midnight. God, how many hours had passed? It couldn't have been a good sign, right? There also hadn't been any word on Homura's condition yet. Sayaka began gnawing on her thumbnail again as she stared at the door. She was beyond nervous or scared, Sayaka was terrified at this point. The more the clock ticked by, the more the possibility that Homura wasn't going to be OK seemed real. If something happened to Homura...if she... if she didn't...

Sayaka wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Madoka...please if you're out there, if you're listening... _please_ let Homura be okay," Sayaka whispered the prayer, closing her eyes tightly as tears began trickling down.

"Excuse me?"

Sayaka's eyes snapped open and she shot up to stand as a doctor walked over to her with a clipboard in his hands.

"You came with Akemi-san, correct?"

At his question, Sayaka nodded, not trusting her voice to speak.

"I'm afraid to say she is in ICU and is in a critical condition," he said, his tone didn't hold any sympathy however, he didn't really care it seemed, "To put it simply; Akemi-san's heart has failed."

Sayaka's eyes widened and her blood got colder and colder with each word, "F-failed? But...but she had a procedure...she got it all fixed."

He flipped through the papers on his clipboad, not even bothering to look at Sayaka now, "Yes, well, the surgery was not as seamless as we had been initially led to believe. The artificial valves failed on her," he explained in an almost monotonous tone, "To make matters worse, one of the valves ended up partially reopening the hole we had sealed. This resulted in a mixture of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood, and thus the massive heart attack she had."

The tears were back and Sayaka's hands were curled into fists, trembling and shaking. Her blood was no longer cold but running hot as he explained what had happened. Chiyo saw what was about to happen before the doctor had, and quickly grabbed onto Sayaka as the girl tried to lunge at him. Her fist missing the doctors face by a few inches.

"This is your fault!" Sayaka screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she struggled in her mother and fathers strong grip. She was seeing red at this point, anger let loose at full force. The raw emotion she had coursing through her body and lacing her words would have had anyone else trembling in fear, "If you hadn't screwed up the surgery, Homura wouldn't be here! This is your fault, your fault, your fault! She did nothing to deserve this!"

"Sayaka, calm down!" Her dad yelled, though his words never reached her, she just continued to struggle and yell at the doctor, earning a few looks from the others in the room.

The doctor just stood there letting her yell at him, this wasn't an unusual occurrence so to him it was best that they let it out of their system early on. So he bore the brunt of her fit, not letting her continue for as long as it took while glancing at his clipboard now and then. He was grateful, however, that her parents were keeping Sayaka from likely killing him.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed, no one was really keeping track. But Sayaka was no longer able to scream and was no longer trying to attack him, her parents finally let her go and she just dropped to her knees in defeat. After a long silence of staring at the white floor, she looked up at the doctor and swallowed hard.

Her voice was hoarse and dry from her anger and yelling, but she still tried to speak,"Will she...is she going to..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the question.

For the first time since talking to them, the doctor actually had an 'I'm sorry' look on his face, "Akemi-san is stable...for now, but that's honestly not saying a whole lot," he said and looked away, unable to meet their eyes for what he said next, "I... her heart's not going to get any better, she'll need a transplant more than likely. But honestly, I don't expect her to live long enough to get one."

 


	11. Beep Beep Goes the Machine

 

The first week was coming to a close, and Homura hadn't woken up.

Doctors had explained that there was no way to tell when she would wake up, they explained that there was a possibility she might not wake up at all. But Sayaka did her best not to think about that part.

Eventually, the doctors had to hook Homura up to even more machines to try and prolong her life until they could get a donor, without them her heart wouldn't be able to keep beating. It was a temporary solution that'd only work for a short while.

Classmates and teachers alike came and went, wanting to see how she was, dropping off gifts and wishing for her to recover, or at the very least, wake from her coma. Everyone was worried for the shy but kindhearted girl they had come to love having class with. She never responded, she never stirred. It was as though she were already dead.

Sayaka was there as often as she could be, skipping classes even to be by Homura's side or waiting by the receptions desk for the doctors to let her go in. If Homura knew about missing school on her behalf, Sayaka knew she would get an earful from her, and she looked forward to it. She had even begun getting bags under her eyes, going several nights with hardly any sleep between her worries and spending time waiting for Homura to wake up. Her parents were getting worried for her, but they tried to stay quiet best they could.

Sayaka spent every single moment she could with Homura, talking to her as though the girl could actually hear her and pausing as though listening to a response. Usually Sayaka would just recap things Homura missed at school, what the weather was like outside, or some idea Sayaka thought of that she thought was particularly funny. She talked about anything really.

But the silence she received was like a stab in the heart.

"You should have seen it, that bully...remember the one from the locker rooms, who threw your glasses? She was opening her pop and it sprayed all over it, she had such a fit over it," Sayaka said, laughing at the memory of the incident, "Got so much all over her she had to go home and change clothes. She wasn't happy at all, but she deserved it."

She sat there by the bed, grinning down at Homura's slumbering face, waiting for a chuckle or some kind of remark, but the only noise was from the beeping of the machines. Those damned machines.

Her shoulders sagged in defeat as they always did when Homura remained asleep. There was little she could do for Homura, and it sucked. So she began idly toying with the long black hair, passing the time in silence as she thought of something else to tell her, or waited for the doctors to kick her out so they could check up on Homura. Maybe her worried mother would drag her out again when it got to late, though she didn't do it that often.

Instead, Sayaka just drifted off to sleep of her own, hoping that when Homura opened her eyes she'd see her and not see Madoka and Mami.

The first week passed by in silence. Halfway through the second week, Homura woke up.

"Say...aka?" Homura whispered, her voice so soft, so weak from lack of use. It would have been easy to not have heard her at all.

But Sayaka jerked to attention, eyes staring at her with alarm and relief, "Homura...Oh God, Homura you're awake!" She wanted to hug her, but knew that it wouldn't have been a good move, so she settled with taking Homura's hand in her own. Hoping it could convey all the emotions she was feeling right now.

Homura gave a weak smile, "What...what happened?" she asked, a fair question. She must not have remembered having the heart attack.

There was a hesitation. Should Sayaka explain to her the situation, she didn't want the knowledge to put strain on her heart, it was barely functioning at all after all. But, she couldn't bring herself to lie to Homura.

"Homura...you're...you're surgery didn't go so well," she said, trying to explain it as gently as she could, her thumb running circles over Homura's knuckles. Her hands felt so much more frail then before, they felt like they could break without effort. "You're hearts it's..."

Homura, clever and smart Homura caught on quickly. A strange look entered her eyes, "Oh," she mumbled, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"No!" Sayaka shouted, and though she hadn't meant to say it that loudly or that harshly or intended to make Homura flinch, she couldn't help it, "You're not going to die, don't say that!" Don't say it, don't let it become a reality. Please, don't, please!

But Homura gave her a bitter smile, "Don't get mad...this was bound to happen..."

Seeing her so ready to give in, already accepting a demise that hadn't happened yet. More pieces to Sayaka's already breaking heart were shattered, and she felt tears begin to form and run down her cheeks. Was she always this much of a crybaby?

Homura just gave her hand a gentle squeeze, eyes begging to droop.

"It's strange...I've just woken up...and I want to be awake and with you..." she mumbled, bringing her eyes to a gentle close, "But I'm tried...so...tired..." Her words grew softer and more slurred as she drifted off to sleep once more, leaving Sayaka in a silence only broken that the beeping of the monitors.

_Beep...Beep...Beep_

* * *

While she had begun waking up more after that, she still slept most of the time. Homura never stayed awake for more than an hour before exhaustion sent her back to slumberland. If it had been just that, Sayaka would have considered it good news, but it wasn't. Homura's condition was slowly worsening with no news on how to stop it. She also delirious more often then not when awake. Often not even aware of where she was or what had happened to her, thinking her to be somewhere else.

Sayaka wished she could be in whatever world Homura thought they were in during those times. It seemed like a much happier place.

She had stopped going to school altogether, all but moved into Homura's hospital room. Hitomi and Kyosuke would collect schoolwork for her so she wouldn't fall behind when she came back, not that she ever completed those assignments or read the notes. They sat on her desk untouched, collecting dust. She would work on them with Homura when Homura was discharged from this horrible place.

Assuring herself that Homura  _would_ get better and  _would_ leave the hospital was the only thing keeping Sayaka going at this point. She had done all she could to keep from thinking of the more grim likelihood of it's end. But the thoughts still snuck their way into her head. It was turning Sayaka into a nervous wreck, and when she wasn't with Homura, her anxiety went through the roof.

Sayaka had spent the night again at Homura's side, and it was probably noon if her stomach was anything to go by. She was holding Homura's hand as she always did, watching the girl sleep and waiting for her to wake up, wondering if she would be comprehensible or delirious this time when a doctor came in with two adults in tow.

A woman and a man, both dressed up in suits with expensive phones out. The woman was yelling something on hers while the man texted furiously. The doctor had the most annoyed look on his face and Sayaka could only assume these were the types of visitors he hated the most. She herself was wondering who they were and what they were doing here until it dawned on her. The woman's hair, the mans nose and eyes.

They were the same as Homura's.

"Unbelievable," she had whispered quietly, watching the two with a hawk like gaze. It was almost a half a month now since Homura was admitted, and they were only  _now_ visiting?

The doctor, Wakahisa as Sayaka had come to know, cleared his throat to get the parents attention before speaking, "As I explained over the phone...in the multiple times to try and bring you here, she will need your-" he began but was cut off by Homura's mother.

"Quiet!" she hissed at him before returning to the phone, "No, I said I want it done by the time I return to the office! I don't care what you say, you will get that paperwork done! Well maybe if you'd stop complaining you could get it done in an hour!" She snapped at someone who Sayaka assumed was an employee of hers. She continued to bark orders and practically degrade the poor person on the other end before finally turning to Homura and Sayaka after hanging up.

"Wow, you didn't say she looked this bad, she's already half dead by the looks of it," she said after looking Homura up and down, clicking her tongue before turning to the doctor, "How long does she got, and how are you even keeping her alive?"

He looked about as annoyed as Sayaka was right now, couldn't the woman at least pretend to be concerned? "Through medical technology," he answered, rolling his eyes at the father who was typing away at his own phone and not listening.

"Who's the kid?" He asked, glancing up before returning to his phone, probably referring to Sayaka. Who narrowed her eyes at him at being called 'kid'.

Before Wakahisa could answer, he was probably stretching his patience thin with the interruptions at this point, Sayaka spoke, narrowing her eyes at them, "Homura's friend; Miki Sayaka. The one who's been here for her while you guys weren't," venom dripped from her words. She wasn't going to pretend to be nice to them. They didn't deserve politeness. She hadn't had the best opinion of Homura's parents after learning they hadn't even been in the country when Homura was in the hospital the previous time. But their attitudes here, like Homura was the last of their concerns?

Sayaka  _hated_  them.

"Friend? I'll be honest, I'm shocked, I didn't think the girl was even capable of human interactions," Aiko Akemi chuckled at her own joke, and Sayaka clenched her teeth. "I'd suggest you go on and save yourself the trouble of sticking around. Homura's probably not going to be around for much longer, so it's best you move on with your own life."

She didn't even look upset over saying that Homura might die.

They must have been the reason for Homura's terrible self esteem, her submissive nature. They should save themselves the trouble of getting a beating by  _shutting up_ before things got real nasty. Sayaka didn't know how much longer until she'd end up attacking them.

A squeeze on her hand was what held her back.

"Anyways," Wakahisa said, clearing his throat and scanning the room as though waiting to see who'd interrupt him next, "We will need you two to sign some papers before we can even begin the process of getting a donor, she is a minor after all and needs your permission. I would have preferred if you guys had come sooner to be honest."

"We had only been back in Japan for a few days before you had called us. Do you know how much work we had to attend to? Far to much to push aside for a simple trip to Mitakihara," Koji Akemi said, waving the doctor off, still focusing on his phone. "Besides, waste more money on a surgery? You said so yourself, she's not going to live long enough to get it."

"I said there was a high chance she wouldn't, thats different."

Sayaka's teeth were grinding now. She could have forgiven their lateness in coming if they had still been out of the country, but no, Homura's father had just confirmed they had been in Japan the entire time. What bullshit work was more important then  _their dying daughter_?! _Who_ gave them the right to be parents? Why did they bother paying for Homura's medical expenses at all if they cared so little for her?

The grip on her hand tightened almost in warning, but Sayaka ignored it.

"Get out," she hissed, standing up, her hand still holding Homura's. She had heard enough from them, seen enough of them. "You don't belong here, you're not wanted here! You obviously don't give a shit about Homura, so just get the fuck out of here now before I make you leave!"

They probably didn't believe she could hold true to her threat, underestimating Sayaka was a terrible thing to do. Wakahisa knew well enough from their first encounter that she would lash out when Homura was involved, but the parents didn't know that. But they at least shrugged and left, muttering about having more  _important_ things to do than waste time here. Wakahisa gave Sayaka a sympathetic and thankful look, had she not had her outburst, he would have snapped at them instead.

They truly weren't deserving of being called parents.

Sayaka took a deep breath as the door slid shut and she could no longer hear the two older Akemi's talking. Sinking back onto her chair, her eyes fell on Homura.

"How long had you been awake?" she asked, fingers interlacing with Homura's. Her heart tightened as Homura opened her eyes, the tears she'd been holding back falling down her pale and gaunt face, "Are they...are they always like that?"

Homura just nodded silently, a thin, shaking arm rubbing at her face to try and get the tears away as tubes and wires bumped against each other, "Yeah...s-sorry you had to...had to meet them," she mumbled, looking away from Sayaka in shame. She'd probably had never wanted Sayaka to meet her parents at all, and least of all meet them in this sort of situation.

But Sayaka just gave Homuras hand a light squeeze in her own, "Well, so what if they're like that. They don't deserve you is all," she said trying to comfort Homura. Hearing all of what they had said probably had not done well for her. It had most certainly not done any good for her. It was clear they wouldn't have cared if she was dead, and no kid deserved that kind of parent. Sayaka was glad Homura didn't have to live with them.

Though Homura appreciated her words, it did little to brighten her mood, "They're not going to sign, you know," she said, referring the papers that would allow Homura to have the transplant. "You heard my dad, it'd be a waste of money. They don't like wasting money."

"Wakahisa-san will get them to sign, don't worry," Sayaka assured her, brushing some hair from Homura's face, "He may seem like an ass who doesn't want to be here, but he does want you to survive."

"He said so himself there was a little chance."

Sayaka swallowed, Homura right on that. The very first day Wakahisa had said not to expect Homura to live long enough to get a transplant. They still didn't know how long they'd have to  _wait_ to get a donor, let alone do a surgery. He was right, there wasn't a good chance that Homura would make it that long. She couldn't bring herself to find an argument this time.

"Sayaka...I'm...I..." Homura began, but fell silent, looking out the window instead of at Sayaka, unable to bring herself to finish what she was about to say. Both girls fell into a bitter, familiar silence as Sayaka kept their hands intertwined. Occasionally she would reach over to play with Homura's hair, or mumble some comment or another.

Homura was asleep again before long.

A few more days passed, and Sayaka had been right; Wakahisa had managed to convince Aiko and Koji to sign the papers. Now all they had to do was get a heart. But Homura's condition had begun to take a serious turn for the worse after that. She'd suffered a few small heart attacks, and it was a rare sight for her not to be delirious and hallucinating when awake.

Doctors said it was better she think she was somewhere else, somewhere better. Sayaka agreed, but it didn't mean she liked seeing her friend in this state even if she  _sometimes_ snapped out of it. But it wasn't often.

Every time she came into the room, if felt like a part of herself had died. Seeing Homura who looked closer and closer to death every time she came, it was too much for Sayaka to handle, but she would bare the pain. She had to give Homura hope. Couldn't let Homura see her an emotional wreck, not here, not now.

She'd taken to running to a waiting wing in the back that was generally void of patients and doctors to cry and lash out.

It was perhaps the sixth day since Homura started getting worse, Sayaka had been dragged off by her mother that morning to come home. She needed to change clothes, take a shower and eat real food Chiyo had said, seeing as Sayaka was in need of all three.

So now, clean, with fresh clothes and a full stomach, she was on her way back to Homura's room, bracing herself for whatever condition Homura may be in now.

"Homura?" she asked, pushing the door open and stepping in. The girl opened her eyes and looked up at Sayaka, those eyes once a vibrant violet color full of life, now a dull purple. Her skin had taken on a blueish hue. Sayaka had to hide her pain as she stepped in and took her seat next to the bed, "How're you feeling?"

Homura smiled at the sight of Sayaka, "Kind of warm, actually. It's a really nice day out, so warm, so bright," She answered, her voice so quiet and hoarse, and she looked out the window as she said this. Sayaka didn't bother to follow her gaze. It was cloudy and raining outside, the beginnings of a storm.

"It sure is," Sayaka answered, a forced smile in place as she played along, "We should go out to get some ice cream later, though on a day like this the lines will be pretty long."

Her friend giggled, bringing a hand to her mouth and shifting so she could look at the ceiling. Sayaka wondered where Homura thought she was; at her apartment, Sayaka's room, or maybe outside. She knew it wasn't a sterile hospital.

"I'm thinking," Homura began looking back at Sayaka, "Of getting a dog, or maybe a cat."

Sayaka was used to her bringing up things like these, it wasn't the first time Homura said this, she had said the same thing yesterday. But Sayaka pretended to be surprised by the idea anyways, "Eh? Why?"

"Well, it's kind of lonely in my apartment all by myself, a little friend would be nice to have," Homura explained and smiled wide, "I went by the pet store yesterday, and there were so many cute little guys there that I just wanted to take them all home with me!"

"Is that so?" Sayaka gave a smile, thinking of Homura covered in kittens and puppies. It was an adorable image, "You'll have to take me with you next time to meet them."

Homura grinned, mumbling something about how Sayaka would love them when she met them, and whether a cat would be better or a dog. Sayaka suggested jokingly that she ought to get both, that way they had a playmate when she was at school.

It wasn't long until her line of thinking was changed once again, thoughts of cats and dogs gone as she was off talking about something else. Suggesting that she should go and make some tea for Sayaka since she was a guest after all. Sayaka assured her it was fine and to not get up, and somehow managed to convince Homura to stay in bed.

She could see Homura we getting more tired, there were delays in her replies, her eyes would close for longer and longer periods. Before long she would be sleeping and Sayaka would be left in silence until she awoke again.

"Hey...Sayaka..." Homura mumbled eyes still closed, "Can I...can I ask you something?"

"Sure, you can ask me anything," Sayaka answered, watching Homura carefully. Sometimes she fell asleep before she was finished talking, and Sayaka wondered if this would be the case too. But it wasn't.

Homura seemed to hesitate, gathering her courage before speaking, "Can you... could you...you know, kiss me?"

If Sayaka had been drinking anything, she would have done a spit take at the request, and stared at Homura with wide shocked eyes."K-Kiss you?" Sure she had said weird things in her state, but this was the strangest and most 'out there' thing Homura had said.

Homura's own had opened up and were peering at her shyly, "I'm sorry, I know... it's a strange request," she said, looking away, a pink color dusting her cheeks and coloring the blue ever so slightly, "But...well I've never...I've never kissed anyone before...and I'm curious of what it's like. I don't...I don't want to die without having kissed anyone."

She wasn't sure if Homura was delirious at this point or not, but it was like another stab to Sayaka's heart as she saw how upset Homura was over this. She guessed she should feel honored that Homura wanted her first kiss to be with her, but really, she couldn't feel anything but pain here.

"Alright..." Sayaka said, and Homura perked up as though not hearing her right, "I'll...I'll kiss you." She'd do anything that could help Homura, even if it was something like a kiss.

Homura mumbled a thank you and Sayaka leaned down towards her.

There were some reservations, Sayaka didn't feel quite right kissing her here and now. Would it count as taking advantage of? No, it wouldn't, it's just a kiss and Homura asked her for it. It was the least she could do after all.

_Just like in fairy tales_ , Sayaka told herself, a prince or knight come to save a fair maiden. Homura was her maiden, her princess and Sayaka was the prince.

She'd never kissed anyone either, so her movements were a little clumsy. But her lips soon found a softer and colder set and both closed their eyes. It was strange, kissing another person, kissing another girl for that matter. Neither were sure how long it was supposed to last, but after a few seconds, Sayaka pulled away, and stared at Homura with a bright blush on her face.

Homura's eyes were wide and a faint blush colored her cheeks once again. A hand came up to press fingertips against her lips before she quickly looked away in embarrassment. "Was that...did I...do okay?" she asked shyly.

Nodding, Sayaka fought to find her voice, "Y-yeah...you're a natural kisser, Homura!" Sayaka exclaimed, still flustered. Was it just her or was it getting kind of hot in here?

"Sayaka, I...I think I'm...i-in-"

She was so quiet that Sayaka hadn't actually heard, and as a result never got to finish. "Hey, I'm going to be right back," Sayaka said, face still red as a tomato, "Uh...er nature calls and all that," she lied, she just needed to get out of there fast and get some air. Homura had barely enough time to say OK before Sayaka was out of there.

"...in love with you..." Homura finished though Sayaka wasn't in the room anymore. She closed her eyes, feeling her energy vanish at once and her body grow sleepy once more.

The room fell silent after that, the only sound the machine's constant beep.

_Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep_

* * *

Sayaka quickly splashed some more of the cold tap water onto her burning face before looking up at the mirror. The blush was still there, but not as prominent as before. It had probably been almost thirty minutes now that she's been in the bathroom, trying to collect herself and calm down.

"Okay, Sayaka, okay. Just calm down, it was just a kiss. All you did was just kiss your best friend," she told herself, staring at her reflection, "It was nothing, just a harmless, meaningless kiss...that you sort of actually liked."

At that, she groaned, bringing her hands up to her face.

"No, no, no! It's okay if I liked it, it still doesn't mean anything," she said, trying to assure herself. Her heart felt like it was racing a mile a minute within her chest, and a hand came to rest over it as though it would make it slow down.

"I just kissed Homura Akemi," Sayaka said still looking at her reflection, "My best friend, Homura Akemi...God damn it, this is all Hitomi's fault!" she growled. No, if Hitomi hadn't mentioned anything about the two, then Sayaka wouldn't be thinking about things like this. She wouldn't be making it a bigger deal than it was!

"She just wanted to get her first kiss out of the way, that's all, it means nothing! She didn't mean anything behind it, and neither did I!"

After spending a few more minutes in front of the mirror, trying to tell herself that it was okay and just a meaningless kiss, Sayaka finally built the courage to go back to the room and face Homura. Hopefully Homura would be asleep and not remember the kiss.

The halls were a bit more full of excitement on the return trip, and Sayaka was mildly curious of what had all the doctors in such a rush.

However, Wakahisa stopped Sayaka when she was about to turn the corner to reach Homura's room.

"Hey, what's going on?" Sayaka asked annoyed, but when she looked up to see the expression on the doctors face, Sayaka felt color drain from her face and pushed him aside to turn the corner anyways.

There were doctors rushing to and from Homura's room, yelling at each other to grab things or do something.

"No," Sayaka said, shaking her head, and looked back at Wakahisa, "Please, please tell me she's not..."

He shook his head sadly, "Her heart flatlined, we're...we're sending her to ER, but there isn't much we can do."

Sayaka stood there with wide eyes as she watched some doctors push Homura out of the room on a gurney. She could feel the very instant that she felt her heart shatter as she turned and ran the other way. The doctor didn't even try to stop her as she nearly knocked over others in her run.

She eventually found herself in the empty wing.

"I...All because I left her alone..." she whispered, drawing her knees close to her as she gripped her hair. Tears began to fall and choked sobs echoed through the empty room, "Damn! Damn it all! I should have stayed in there with her! I shouldn't have run out like a fucking idiot! All because I was embarrassed!"  _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Why was it always like this? She grows close to someone, and something happens! Madoka died, and now Homura was going to die too. Was she cursed? Was she cursed to cause everyone she loves to die?

"I don't...I don't want her to die!" she screamed, nails digging into her scalp. She didn't want Homura to die, she wanted her to live. She wanted to be able to grow up beside her, stay at her side for as long as she could. They couldn't have her, Death couldn't have Homura, she was too good, to pure for him! "I...I need her! I can't lose her, I can't lose her from my life too!"

All she could see though in her mind was Homura, frail and weak with such deathly pale skin lying near dead in the hospital room.

_I can't lose you, please, God, if you're listening, please don't take her away! I need her...I...I love her, please!_

She didn't care if it was God or the Devil who heard her plea and she didn't care who came to answer it if any came. She just wanted Homura to live. She wanted to be able to relieve Homura of all that pain she had felt, be able to make her feel better. She wanted to  _save_  Homura.

"I can help you to save Akemi Homura's life."

Sayaka jerked, head snapping up from where it had been buried between her knees. She looked down the row of seats she was on to the end where the speaker sat. Though the light was dimmer on that side of the room, it wasn't to hard to make out the shape.

"You...you can?" she asked, her voice a whisper full of disbelief and hope.

Red eyes gleamed in the darkness, "Of course! A simple task really," it answered before stepping out of the shadows and walking over the seats to her, "All you have to do is make a wish.


	12. Viveret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, I've added a couple of tags that were much needed for this story.
> 
> Anyways, time to slow down the Suffering Train a bit, this chapter is a little happier then the past few.

It had been hours.

Sayaka had spent those hours pacing the waiting room floor anxiously, alternating between gnawing her thumbnail to a short stub and glancing back to the door every few seconds. Waiting for Wakahisa, or anyone for that matter, to walk through them and give her the good news.

She hoped it was good news, it had to be good news. After all, she'd contracted with Kyubey; in exchange for having one wish granted, a single miracle was performed.

Her eyes glanced down to the ring she now wore, light bouncing off it. When the contract had been made, never before would she have thought hearing "Your wish has surpassed entropy" would make her happy.

In reality, she didn't know much of what she had just gotten herself into by making the contract. Sayaka hadn't exactly interrogated Kyubey on what all entailed in this contract, had actually told him to skip over the details and get to the point. When he said that there was a way she could save Homura, nothing else really mattered. If it could save Homura's life, if she could save Homura's life just by making a contract, then that was all she needed to know.

After the rather painful process of gaining what he'd dubbed a soul gem, she hadn't given the creature time to talk and explain what it was supposed to do or be, instead racing to the main waiting room to try and reach Homura.

What she did understand was that she had essentially sold her soul to save Homura, and that was fine by her. It was worth it in her opinion, she'd do it again if she had to.

Sayaka just hoped it had worked.

"No, it had to work, it did work," Sayaka hissed to herself, still pacing about the room. If anyone noticed her talking to herself, they paid it no mind, it was probably normal here.

Every time the door opened, she would stop and look at it with a hopeful expression before slinking back in disappointment when it was someone else, someone unimportant, who exited through it.

She may have been far too excited and eager when the deed was done, having actually expected Homura to be out and waiting for Sayaka, which was unrealistic in hindsight now that she thought of it. If Kyubey had kept his part of the deal, the doctors would have to run tests, question what happened and how Homura got better so quickly. Homura's recovery would have been deemed unnatural, and anyone with a brain would question its possibility. They wouldn't go "Okay" and let her walk out as though it were nothing.

And now Sayaka was starting to wonder if she'd made the right choice, or if Homura would have more problems to deal with because of her wish.

No! It was the right choice, it protected Homura, saved Homura! How could it not be the right choice?! Sayaka angrily shook her head quickly to get those doubtful thoughts out of her mind. If Homura was safe and sound in the end, then there couldn't be a wrong choice. How could she even consider the alternative, where Homura would die to be the "right" choice?! She was tired and stressed, and it was making her think crazy things, that was all!

A buzz went off within her pants that had made Sayaka jump in surprise, breaking her from her thoughts. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly checked what it was. A text from her mom wondering if she would be home for dinner or not. Oh, right, her mother wouldn't have known about what had transpired earlier; as far as she was aware, Homura's condition hadn't changed.

No need to tell her. "I can just text her back later," Sayaka murmured, slipping the device back into her pocket. Talking to her mother wasn't exactly high on her list of priorities right now, she was sure her mother would understand.

Some more time passed by, and to Sayaka, the hours of waiting felt more like days. The clock on the wall said it was nearly eight, meaning that she'd been waiting for almost twelve hours for someone to tell her anything of Homura's condition. Did this sort of thing always take so long?

But it seemed twelve was the lucky number, as that was when Wakahisa stepped into the room, scanning the visitors until his eyes landed on Sayaka's anxious form only seconds after Sayaka had noticed him.

He just waved her over, and Sayaka, with her nerves on end at this point, followed him out of the waiting room and into the hall.

"How is she?" Sayaka asked as soon as the door had shut behind them.

The doctor hesitated in his answer as he started to walk, clearing his throat, "Well, she's...better," he said, rubbing at the back of his neck, "a lot better. It doesn't make any sense, really. The tear in her heart practically sealed itself up, like the heart attack and failure never happened. No one can explain it. It's like God reached down and healed her himself."

Sayaka's heart had risen to new heights at this news. It worked, it had worked! She'd saved Homura, she'd saved her! Her wish had been successful.

"Can I see her?" Sayaka asked eagerly, quickening her own pace. She wanted to see Homura, no, she needed to see Homura, see with her own eyes that Homura had survived.

Wakahisa just nodded, continuing to lead her down the halls. They must have given her a new room because the two had passed Homura's previous one. Soon they were at a new door and the doctor turned to look at her cautiously. "Just...be sure not to agitate her too much, her heart is still in a sensitive state to put it simply. To much strain or excitement may trigger something."

Nodding her head, Sayaka entered, lightly closing the door behind her.

She had expected Homura to be sleeping, to be honest. But no, the girl who had been the center of all of Sayaka's thoughts these past weeks was sitting, wide awake and staring out the open window. Some wires were connecting her to a few machines, but not nearly as much as before.

What made Sayaka's heart burst with joy was how much healthier Homura looked. Her eyes now held life to them, and her skin no longer a sickeningly pale blue but pink!

There was a smile forming that Sayaka could neither stop nor wanted to stop. "Ho...Homura," Sayaka said softly, taking a few steps to her.

Homura looked up, and her eyes widened with surprise at seeing Sayaka. "Sayaka," Homura responded, smiling, the happiness and relief written clearly across her face.

She couldn't stop herself even if she wanted to. Quickly closing the distance between them, Sayaka wrapped her arms tightly around Homura and buried her face atop of her head. Was she crying? She must be, Sayaka could feel the wet paths forming down her face as she embraced her dearest, most precious friend.

"You're alive..." she whispered, feeling her voice catch in her throat. Homura's thinner and weaker arms wrapped around her in a gentle hold. "I thought you were going to...to..."

"I thought I was too," Homura responded, nuzzling against her.

Sayaka swallowed hard to keep her voice steady, "I thought I was going to lose you...I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me," Homura assured her, looking up at her and there were tears in her own eyes too. "I don't know how, I don't know why, but I'm better now. I'm going to live, Sayaka."

Of course Homura didn't know how she got better. Sayaka almost found herself blurting it out to her. No, not now...I'll tell her later, she told herself, combing her fingers gently through long black hair. What Sayaka had done to save Homura, talking about it could wait, it wasn't important at the moment. All she wanted to do right now was to just hold Homura in her arms like this.

"How about this...when you get released, we go get those shakes and fries we never got around to getting," Sayaka offered, knowing that as soon as she was out of here, Homura would want to do something after being stuck in bed for weeks, "and we'll go somewhere...anywhere you want for however long you want to, a vacation! We can go back to Kazamino if you want to, too! I know you liked it there when we visited during that trip."

Homura gave a small laugh and shook her head. "Shakes and fries are a deal, and Kazamino was fun, but we don't need to go anywhere," she said, pulling back to look up at Sayaka, her smile widening a little, and a blush, so light it was almost unnoticeable, graced her cheeks. "I have more than enough fun just being beside you, we don't need to go anywhere special."

A blush danced along Sayaka's own cheeks, but she smiled anyways, scratching at her neck as she pulled away and broke the hug. "Then you're going to regret those words, because I won't leave your side for a second!" she warned. She wasn't completely joking about that.

"Wouldn't want you to anyways."

The two spent the next couple of hours filling the air with talk, talking about anything really. They had easily slipped back into a relaxed state with jokes and small comments flying back and forth, it was almost like everything earlier, everything that had happened was just a bad dream. But they knew it wasn't, it had been a bitter reality that was over now.

A nurse would step in every now and then to check up on Homura, to see if she was alright and if she needed anything. Wakahisa even came, and the mood had dropped for a short while when he explained that Homura's parents had been notified of her recovery. But a few terrible jokes from Sayaka, and the atmosphere between the two had been brought back up once again.

By the time it was ten, Homura had to talk Sayaka into going home, seeing as the blue-haired girl didn't want to leave Homura's side. She'd also given the expected scolding when learning that Sayaka had skipped classes during that time. Though it was quite nice knowing that Sayaka stayed by her side for so long, it wasn't good to abandon school.

* * *

 

"You haven't left yet, I see."

Kyouko shrugged, taking a bite out of her apple as she sat on the steps inside what had once been a great church, but was now an old building that was falling apart at its seams. "Well, since that mega witch attacked Mitakihara, where do ya think all the other witches been runnin' off to?" she retorted, not even bothering to look in the visitor's direction. The veteran would have honestly liked to have been in Mitakihara by now, before some other magical girl came and took the territory from under her nose. But she had been too preoccupied here in Kazamino to be able to make the transfer.

The witch, Walpurgisnacht's, arrival a month ago had held a side effect that she hadn't expected. The other two hadn't told her about it when they were in Kazamino; they probably didn't even know it either. When Walpurgis was destroyed, the witches that had made it up that were strong enough to hold themselves together were still scattered far and wide. Thus, for a time, all witches in and around Mitakihara had been blown clear off their old turf, many of them drawn to the nearby population center of Kazamino, so Kyouko had to delay her moving plans so that she could wipe out the ones in her city.

Though she supposed it didn't much matter if she didn't go to Mitakihara right then; at least this way she was getting more grief seeds than she would have if she had left already. The bigger city would have been barren of any witches for a while, and according to Kyubey, they were only now returning. So if any other girl had come in thinking it was a ripe territory, they would have likely left, assuming it was a false lead. Kyouko wasn't too worried if there were some magical girls in the city already; she had faith she could take on any that remained.

Mitakihara was hers after all.

She'd told Mami that so many times, during and after her partnership with the elder veteran. "If you die, I get Mitakihara," and...well, Mami died.

"Damn it," she growled to herself. She was thinking about it again and she'd told her brain not to think about it! She hated the way she started to feel when thinking about Mami and that other girl, she hated feeling guilty. "What was I supposed to do, I would have died too if I'd agreed! Better at least one girl lives to kill the witches in that city!" she yelled to herself, not caring that her "guest" was still there.

Though she kept telling herself this, the guilt was eating her up inside.

Before Walpurgisnacht, Mami had come to her, asking for help in fighting that behemoth of a witch. It was more powerful than anything either of them had faced before, a big enough threat that Mami was coming to Kyouko of all people for help despite their falling out.

She might have said yes, a part of her wanted to say yes.

But then she'd brought her new protege, a girl who'd only contracted less than a month ago, but was one of the best Mami had ever seen. Kyouko had gotten jealous, to put it mildly, and felt replaced by that pink-haired newbie. Mami was her mentor, Kyouko was supposed to be her best student, not some half-trained runt who couldn't possibly be as great as Mami made her out to be.

She didn't fight them, no. Sure, she could have easily wiped the floor with Madoka, but Kyouko wasn't as confident that she'd be able to beat Mami. But she had said a few nasty remarks before turning them down.

Mami kept coming back though. Every day that those Mitakihara students were in Kazamino, she'd come find Kyouko and ask, try to make some kind of deal, anything that might get Kyouko to agree.

Kyouko kept refusing.

That Madoka girl had even tried to make friends with Kyouko, not so she could get Kyouko to help them, but because she had genuinely wanted to be friends. It was strange seeing the redhead hadn't been the kindest towards her, she made it hard for Kyouko to hate her, and she just ended up feeling bad for being jealous of her.

On the day that they were returning, they'd asked one more time, and Kyouko refused, though more reluctantly this time than before. They finally gave up on asking her to help them, though Madoka did have one last request, in case they didn't survive.

It was a simple task really. One she couldn't fulfill until she moved over to their old territory.

"I'll be in Mitakihara soon enough, once I finish cleaning house here," Kyouko announced, taking another bite from her apple, "but tell me, have any girls tried to move in while I'm still here? I wanna know if I've anyone to evict."

"I did contract a new magical girl there earlier today," Kyubey answered, red eyes staring unblinking at Kyouko, "a former friend of Kaname Madoka's if I do remember."

"I don't care who she was friends with, I'll have to teach her who's top dog then." Shrugging, Kyouko tossed the apple core to the side and stood up. She could feel another witch close by and that meant break time was over. "Tell her not to make herself too comfy over there, will ya?" With that, the conversation ended, and transforming, Kyouko took off running to face the witch with her spear in hand. Thinking of Mami and Madoka just then...she had some anger she needed to get rid of.


	13. Home Sweet Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not intend for an update to take this long, I procrastinated. I am sorry!

Homura hadn't felt this good in...well, a long time. She felt genuinely  _healthy_  for once, not "okay" but healthy! She felt like she could take on the world the moment she was allowed to leave this room, this building.

Of course the doctors had to run some more tests on her, oh how she hated the tests, to ensure that she was okay and to see if there was still anything seriously wrong with her. It would be poor practice if they didn't, and with her unexplainable and sudden recovery, Homura could understand why they wanted to cover all their bases. But it wasn't all bad, Homura actually quite liked her nurses and doctors. Many of them had been with her while she was an inpatient before going to Mitakihara Middle School.

Even her doctor, Wakahisa, was one who Homura got along with well. Though his attitude sometimes felt like he belonged on  _House_ , and he usually responded to her with some kind of snarky remark, he really was a kind man when one got down to it, and she had no doubt he knew what he was doing. She was glad he was her new heart doctor; Homura hadn't been too fond of her previous one.

Now a few days had passed and she was given a clean bill of health and a new list of medicine to take to ensure it stayed that way. So finally Homura was set up to be discharged and she could go back home after so many weeks, much to her excitement. Sayaka was going to be picking her up later and taking her home.

But, instead of being eager and excited, Homura was rather anxious and worked up today, and it wasn't because of her release. It was the fact that her  _parents_  were coming by for an obligatory visit today and it had Homura on edge. Her body was filled with a mixture of fear, anxiety, and even a tinge of excitement.

Their last visit had been even worse than she would have expected, and a part of her still hoped it was a dream. They would never had said such things if they knew she had been  _awake_. The only upsides were they didn't talk to her and they hadn't been in the room for very long. She had pretended to be sleeping during their short five minutes in the room so she didn't have to face them, and she even had Sayaka in there with her; that alone would have been enough to get her through it. But she couldn't pretend to be sleeping this time around, and Sayaka couldn't be with her if she was at school today.

Homura was starting to wish she hadn't talked Sayaka into going today.

So to try and keep her mind off the impending visit she busied herself with a few hours of reading books borrowed from the gift shop. Knowing her parents, they would likely delay as much as they could in visiting her and spend as little time as they could in the same room as her, thats what they did on their few other visits. Maybe with some luck Sayaka would be out of school and with her when they finally got around to coming in.

Sayaka...

Her cheeks began to heat up as they often did now whenever her friend crossed her mind. Homura found herself no longer reading her book but rather thinking of Sayaka instead.

"She tasted like strawberries..." Homura murmured to herself, her mind drifting to the kiss they had shared as a hand came up and her fingertips rested lightly against her lips. She had enjoyed their brief moment of intimacy that day, even if she had nearly died not long after. It was a moment in time that would forever be burned into her memories. However, thank God that Sayaka never brought it up, or Homura would die from embarrassment. She'd already had one near death experience, she was not looking for another one any time soon.

Still, sharing her first kiss with Sayaka...it was nice. It had felt like something from one of the fairy tales that Sayaka loved so much. She was a princess sleeping, awaiting for the kiss from her prince, and Sayaka was that Prince Charming.

Homura's face was quite warm at this point as she began entertaining thoughts of being with Sayaka as something more than friends and sharing a life with her. Maybe they could open up a little cozy shop of some kind once out of high school, run it together and have fun with it. Of course, like all of the little fantasies Homura had begun creating about her and Sayaka, it wasn't going to ever happen. But it was still nice to be able to feel optimistic again when she looked to the future.

"Hey, Homura, you ready?"

The ravenette gave a small jump, turning to look at the door where Sayaka stood, school bag in one hand, the other resting on the door frame and a nurse was behind her. What, was it already time to go or had Sayaka skipped to come for her? Looking at the clock on the far side of the wall told her that Sayaka had thankfully not ditched school.

Sayaka was here and she didn't have to face her parents, good news, right? Well, even if it were, Homura couldn't help but feel hurt over it; even though she wasn't surprised by how her parents acted the one time they visited her these last weeks, with the changes her life had gone through since meeting Sayaka, she felt a little hope that maybe her parents could change too...but they didn't.

"Yeah, just one second," Homura said, sliding off the bed and slipping on her shoes that were lined neatly at the side as the nurse came over, handing over her new prescriptions and explaining once again when to take them.

Once that was out of the way, the two girls were heading out of the room and down the halls that they'd both had enough of. "Wait 'til we get back to your apartment, I got you a surprise waiting!" Sayaka announced happily.

* * *

The walk had been filled with chatter and jokes the entire way. Though Sayaka had tried to get them a taxi so Homura didn't have to walk so far, the other girl would have none of it, wanting to walk and stretch her legs after so long in bed. Her medicine had been placed safely within Sayaka's bag, and Homura had already begun a mental mapping of where in her medicine cabinet she'd place them so she can get them easily and quickly.

The wind blew through her hair, taking advantage of this day where it was freed from its braids to send black strands all over. Sayaka had made a few over-dramatic remarks about how her hair had a mind of its own and it was trying to kill her when the wind blew it into Sayaka's face. But for most of the trip, Sayaka just grinned widely, barely able to keep her own excitement in check as she tugged Homura down the streets. Homura was still trying to figure out why Sayaka was excited.

She had said she had a surprise waiting for her at her apartment, but hadn't given any hints as to what it was.

"Sure you're feeling alright?" Sayaka asked, and it was another trait that Homura had noticed upon her recovery. Sayaka seemed more worried for her than before; she had already been protective, now she sometimes acted as though Homura would fall apart if a strong wind hit her.

"I'm fine, promise," Homura assured her for what was the umpteenth time and pointed ahead down the road, "We're almost there anyways." Her apartment was just up ahead. With a smile, she quickened her pace to pull out ahead of Sayaka. "Hurry up, you said you had a surprise for me, didn't you?"

Her friend and crush just stood there for a moment before shaking her head and hurrying after her and Homura just picked up her own speed. "Hey, slow down!" Sayaka yelled, only to be answered with laughter.

It turned into a full-on race after that, seeing who could reach the door first. Of course, Sayaka would have been more than capable of beating Homura, but she had stayed slow enough to remain even with Homura and let Homura barrel into the door first as victor.

"W-wow..." Homura panted, grasping the door for support, already out of breath from a short run; even with a miraculously healed heart, her stamina was very lacking. "That w-was...I didn't realize how...how out of shape I am," she said, but laughed anyways as she caught her breath. It wasn't much of a surprise, really; because of her health, Homura didn't often do anything that involved much physical exertion. But it felt thrilling to be able to run again, even if it was just a short distance. Maybe it was because she was just that happy from her improved health. What was more, her heart was pounding but it didn't ache like it used to.

After regaining her breath, Homura straightened her posture and looked at Sayaka as the girl fished out a key from her pocket. Sly girl, must have sneaked it out of Homura's bag while she was in the hospital. Well, at least Homura knew she could trust Sayaka not to make a mess of her place or anything.

"So, mind if I have that key back after this?" Homura asked, watching as Sayaka unlocked the door. After receiving a confirming nod, Homura tilted her head to the side. "We're here, so am I getting any hints as to what this surprise is now, or no?"

Sayaka responded with a wide grin as she pushed the door open. "Nope, you just gotta wait and see," she added as she stepped into her friend's home. "Now, just wait in here and don't move."

Slipping off her shoes, Homura followed her in, closing the door behind her and doing as she was told by staying there. So, standing by the door while filled with curiosity, Homura just watched Sayaka run from room to room, looking under furniture and muttering to herself as she tried to find her gift for Homura. She was about to start moving, intent on helping Sayaka find whatever it was, but Sayaka just barked at her, telling her to just stay there and wait.

At least it was amusing watching Sayaka run about.

"Meow?"

Blinking, Homura looked down at a kitten standing by her foot, staring up at her with wide eyes.

"Hey there, little one," Homura said, scooping the bundle of orange fur into her arms. Judging by size, it must have just recently been separated from its mother. "What are you doing here?" Homura didn't own a cat, and none of her neighbors said anything about a new kitten or pregnant cat, so where did this little fellow come from?

Wait...

The two dots connected, and she began walking away from the door to the laundry room where Sayaka was on her knees trying to look between the dryer and washer. Giving a light cough to get her attention, she watched as Sayaka scrambled to stand up, and then stare in surprise at the creature Homura was carrying.

"This wouldn't happen to be your 'surprise' would it?" Homura asked, gesturing to the kitten that was now purring and nuzzling against her.

Giving a laugh, Sayaka scratched at the back of her neck. "Yeah...well, yeah," she admitted, giving a sheepish smile. "You said how lonely it gets living here on your own, so...now you don't have to live on your own. You have yourself a little friend to keep you company when I'm not around. A welcome home present, too," Sayaka explained.

She had? Homura didn't remember saying that, had it been while she was in the hospital? Probably. Homura sighed and shook her head, unsure how to really react. "You...you didn't have to, Sayaka," she began, though she was still rather surprised by all of this. She was expecting something small, something simple, not a cat. "Where did you get the money to buy her? How much did she cost?" Homura asked, adjusting her hold on the cat to reach into her pocket. Hopefully she had enough money in her wallet to pay her back, if not she could go to the bank and withdraw some from her savings.

But Sayaka just stopped her and shook her head. "No, it's fine, you don't gotta pay me back. She's a gift from me to you, doesn't matter how much she cost," she said, watching as Homura reluctantly put the wallet away. She didn't need to know the expense, and it wasn't like Sayaka hadn't already had the money to cover the cat. She had been saving up money for a while to buy a new violin for Kyosuke for when he was released, back before she learned he wouldn't be able to play. Besides, now that she was over her crush on him enough to think rationally, she doubted he would have wanted a new violin anyways; he was practically married to his current one.

The amount she saved had in the end been enough to buy the kitten and the essentials for her. She even had some left over for a couple of toys. A way better way to spend it than on the food and CDs she would have wasted it on instead.

Homura looked down at the kitten in her arms and then back up at Sayaka. "I...I really appreciate this, I m-mean...um... thank you." How was she supposed to respond to this kind of gift? Was that an appropriate thank-you, or did Sayaka expect something more? No, Sayaka was smiling, so it must have been good enough, right?

"How about we give the girl a name?" Sayaka asked, reaching over to scratch under the kitten's chin. It was the hand with the ring on it that she always seemed to wear now. "Can't have the cutie go around nameless, right?"

Nodding her agreement, Homura led Sayaka into the living room and sank down into the couch. Oh, how she missed this rickety old thing and all the neck cramps and sore backs it gave her whenever she fell asleep on it. Sayaka sat down next to her, and the kitten hopped over to her lap, sitting on it like it was her throne.

"So, well, we know she's a she," Sayaka said as the furball curled up and began purring, "so...how about Sachiko?"

"We're not naming her an evil, homicidal, dead seven-year-old."

"Oh come on, she's not that bad, just very angry after being killed."

Homura just shook her head, deciding not to make another comment, instead thinking of a name. "Err...Ginger?" she suggested. Her fur was orange, so it was a decent name, right?

But Sayaka just stared at her and slowly began shaking her head, and the idea that it was a good name was thrown out the window. "I feel bad for your future kids if you're starting with that."

Homura stuck her tongue out at her after that.

For the next hour or so the two spent their time playing with the kitten, watching as she pawed at the toys Sayaka had bought and smiling whenever she bumped her head against them to get their attention. While doing so, they would throw out name suggestions and shooting down every name they came up with. Sometimes the cat did it for them though with little faces she would make that were probably not even because of the name. The two would share a laugh whenever the nameless kitten did that.

Everything about her was too cute for words.

Furball, their temporary name for the little thing, they both agreed was a good one, for a nickname at least. But neither really liked it as her actual name, and it was quickly scrapped along with the others.

Eventually she grew tired of playing and had moved back to Homura's lap to rest while the girl continued to gently pet her as she ran through names in her head. "How about...Ganko?" she suggested, fingers tickling her behind the ears a little. Ignoring its meaning, the name sort of felt right.

Sayaka made a humming nose before nodding her head. "Ganko, I like it. What do you think?" she asked, looking down at the cat and grinned when she looked up and gave a meow. "I think she likes it too."

The now-named Ganko meowed again, moving from one girl to the other, rubbing affectionately against Sayaka and her purring grew louder.

"I think she likes you more than me," Homura commented with a laugh, watching the cat nuzzle against Sayaka, "she must think you're her mommy."

At that comment, Sayaka just reached over to hook an arm around Homura and pull her close, ignoring the blush that came across her friend's cheek at the action as she gave her a side hug. "Well, I'm not going to be a single parent, so you're gonna have to take responsibility and be the father, or rather mom number two. We can raise our baby together and be the happiest and most perfect family ever. Just two moms and a kitty-baby," Sayaka joked.

"We're going to be one strange family then."

"The stranger the better!"

The two started laughing, both imagining the scenario and each image their minds conjured sent them into another fit of giggles.

It felt great to be able to do this again. Having Sayaka here and laughing alongside her, it felt right. Homura was sure she'd been smiling the entire time she'd been in the apartment. Just by being here and not in the hospital had filled Homura with enough joy. But to be able to spend her first day back with the one she cared for most sent her miles above happy.

If she could spend every day like today, just being with Sayaka like this, then Homura knew she would spend every day happy.


	14. Mothers Lies

It had been a few days since Homura had left the hospital now. She was starting to adjust to her new routines too. Homura had grown used to having Ganko around; the kitten followed her everywhere she went in the house and curled up against her when she slept. Sayaka was right, she didn't feel so lonely at home anymore with the kitten to share her space with. It felt nice having such a small creature love her so much.

Her apartment had gained more cat items. She and Sayaka had gone to the nearby pet store the other day and bought several more toys and treats, as well as a little cat play set for her...though Homura was sure all she had to do was get a few boxes and it would be entertaining enough for the kitten.

Sayaka was with her more now than she had before Homura's hospital visit too, which was saying a lot considering the time the two spent together prior to the incident. Not that Homura would complain, she cherished all her time with Sayaka. However, she couldn't help but notice how tired her blue-haired friend seemed to be now. Sayaka would just brush her off every time she asked about it, saying she couldn't sleep, but Homura had her doubts. She wished Sayaka would tell her what's wrong, maybe she could do something to help her, or at least she could listen.

Maybe it was because of Madoka and Mami still. Homura would understand completely if it was because of Sayaka's grief. But even then, she wished her friend would talk to her about it. Sayaka didn't like Homura worrying over her, and she knew that. Didn't mean that she didn't still worry, though; it was hard not to.

Especially now that she felt like Sayaka was hiding something from her.

Heaving a heavy sigh as she lay on the couch, Homura buried her face into Ganko's soft fur as her mind began to drift from Sayaka to other thoughts.

Her phone was on the couch next to her, right where she placed it after her last call, a piece of scratch paper under it with a quickly scrawled phone number on it. Her mother's  _new_  phone number.

There was still the harsh sting when she first tried to call Aiko the other day and learned that the number she had was outdated. Homura had to call Wakahisa for the new number, and the doctor didn't seem surprised that the woman hadn't given it to Homura. She dared not try to call her father; last time she had, he'd gotten angry because she interrupted his "work." At least her mother didn't show her anger when Homura called. She instead filled their conversations with lies.

"I should call," Homura said to her kitten, stroking her fuzzy ears, "But what if she ignores my call?"

"Meow."

"You don't know her, Ganko. She's not...she's not the 'motherly' type."

"Meow."

Homura stared at the kitten before letting out a bitter laugh. She was imagining having an actual conversation with her cat. Great. But really, she should call her mother.

"Just...just pick up the phone, and dial the number," Homura murmured to herself, reaching over Ganko to pick up her phone and dragging herself to sit upright, but when her fingers hovered over the buttons she found herself hesitating once again. The chances of her hope coming true were slim to nothing. Her mother would, at best, tell her she's too busy to talk and hang up. Homura could handle that; it was the other side of the coin that Homura couldn't stand. The  _lies_  were what she couldn't stand.

Fingers dialed the numbers and Homura pressed the device lightly to her ear as the ringing commenced.

She knew that it wasn't going to end well, but she still had to call. It wasn't that she  _really_  needed a confirmation that the dream and hope of being a happy and loving family together was nothing but a dream, probably the last thing she needed from a logical perspective. The only way they could be a loving family was if there were any  _love_  between them in the first place.

Maybe, just maybe, she still had some hope. Hope that what happened in the hospital room, where Aiko didn't put up her usual front of lies and false love to maintain a "perfect mother" appearance when her audience had been of Wakahisa and Sayaka (they weren't 'important', their opinions and words didn't matter to her), wasn't just a dream. Hope that maybe, just maybe, with her miracle came another chance to be a family. It was naive, and it was foolish, but she couldn't help but still hang onto that one thread of hope.

She knew reality would be a crushing blow to her.

As the ringing continued, her free hand continued to pet Ganko. It was a small attempt to provide a distraction from her own nerves, to remain calm.

_"Hello?"_

Homura's voice caught in her throat, and she was suddenly aware of how clammy her hands were becoming. "H-Hello? Mother?" Homura greeted, mentally berating herself for the stutter. She knew Aiko didn't approve of her stuttering when speaking to her. Weakness, she said, stuttering was showing weakness. Akemi's hated weakness.

_"Ah, Homura dear, it's been a while since we've last spoke!"_

Almost a year to be precise.

"You changed your number...I guess the nurses forgot to tell me?"

The nurses were probably under the assumption that Homura knew.

_"Ah? Well, I know I left it with them. I didn't think of it to much before, what with your father and I out of Japan on business for some months, but that would explain the lack of calls when we got back."_

She never got a call because she didn't want to talk, either from getting a call or making a call. Being out of the country had nothing to do with it. She would have been more than content to pretend Homura didn't  _exist_ , and spent these past months doing just that, hadn't she? It wouldn't be surprising if she did, not when she'd at least once denied Homura was her daughter.

"Uh-huh. It's um, it was a good thing Wakahisa-san had your new number," Homura responded, no longer petting Ganko but instead digging her fingers into her leg through her pants fabric. She could feel the nails through the jeans.

_"Wakahisa-san? I'm sorry, but who's that?"_

This call was off to a bad a start as Homura feared, and it'd only been less than five minutes. She'd already forgotten the name of Homura's doctor. Another not-surprise; she didn't even know the name of Homura's previous heart doctor, one whom she had for  _years_.

"My heart doctor, over here in Mitakihara, Wakahisa Hiro? You met him while I was in the hospital this last month or so."

_"Oh! Him. He seemed like a very nice young man."_

Her description of Wakahisa was wrong of course. He didn't have a nice attitude, and he wasn't young. It just showed how little the woman retained from the visit, if it could have even been called that.

_"Anyways, have you tried calling your father?"_

She always tried to push Homura onto her father when she was growing tired of her. That didn't take long for him to come up this time, was she already that tired of Homura? Well, it had surpassed Aikos minute of patience she had for the timid girl.

"N-No...I, he doesn't like me calling him, remember?"

If she called and he answered, it'd just be to yell at her how she's only to call him in "emergencies," and she knew what that meant.

Koji made no attempt to hide his disdain for her when there was no prying eyes around.

"But... how has Father been?"

She could hear Aiko tapping her fingers against some surface. She always did that when her patience ran short and annoyance grew, but she still had to act pleasant. It was either directed at Homura or at Koji; it was hard to tell which. Maybe it was to both of them.

_"He's doing the same things as he did before: working, sleeping around, and being a drunken bastard."_

Exactly as he was when Homura still lived with them, it seemed, just in a different order.

"Is he still with his assistant, Aihara-san?"

Homura liked Aihara, though she never did learn the womans first name. She was a nice lady by all means and always treated Homura kindly, even helped her with homework if she was around and Homura was struggling. It felt like she cared about Homura more than her own parents did. She'd been family to Homura when she was a child, the elder sister she looked up too.

She never did understand what Aihara saw in her father. She deserved better than him.

_"Homura, those two broke up months ago! Now he's sleeping around with some skank half his age! I think she's a stripper from that bar he always spends his nights at."_

Her mother's frustration at him was even more clear now. It could have easily been mistaken as jealousy and anger at Koji's infidelity, but Homura knew it wasn't that. Her mother had no love for him just as he had none for her. Her anger was directed at how little discretion Koji put to his affairs. Should the media catch wind of his sexual escapades, well, it wouldn't be good for their company.

At least Aiko was more stealthy when it came to her affairs. Homura briefly wondered if Aiko had broken up with any of her many lovers or gained any new ones since Homura had left home.

Even more, she wondered why the two never got a divorce if they despised each other so. But, she reminded herself of the reasons soon after.

_"Anyways, Homura, how have you been?"_

"Ah, I've been good. I was released from the hospital the other day. ...You didn't show up..."

_"I heard about it, I'm so glad you're okay!"_

Are you really?

_"We're really sorry about not showing up. But we had something big come up at last minute, and well, we have to put the company first you know."_

Of course, the company has always been more important.

_"But we're both so glad you're okay."_

Liar. Neither of you ever cared.

_"Make sure you don't scare us like that again."_

You weren't scared. You both made that clear back in the hospital room. You always managed to find something more important than your own daughter, always.

_"Homura? Are you still there?"_

Homura blinked, realizing that she hadn't been saying anything. "A-Ah, yeah, I'm still h-here, sorry."

_"It's alright, but anyways, I've got to go now, bye."_

Before Homura could say goodbye back, there was a click as her mother hung up from her end. After a moment of silence, Homura brought the phone down and let out another heavy sigh, fingers finding their way into Ganko's short fur.

"I wonder how much of that is she going to remember tomorrow?" Homura mumbled the question, shoulders sagging in defeat. Her mother would probably just remember that Homura had called; she never seemed to remember  _what_  they talked about. Though, talking to her mother always left her feeling...empty. As though all the positive emotions in her were sucked away. It left her with a mind full of bitter questions and angry accusations.

More than anything, it left her conflicted.

Did she want her mother to stop lying to her, and just say what she really thought instead of just feeding Homura these falsehoods to keep up appearances, or did she want to cling to these empty words of love and pretend they were genuine? Being told the truth to her face by her mother, well yes, it would destroy her, but living in a fake world was no better.

At least it this call was somewhat better than the many times she was left close to tears, if not already crying, when talking to her father.

Really, though, she wished she'd never learned how to tell when her mother was lying and showing only fake love. She wished she could go back to when she really believed her hollow words and genuinely thought her mother loved her and was on her side when faced with her fathers rage.

Why didn't she call her grandmother? That would have been less emotionally exhausting and upsetting, and Homura would have  _enjoyed_  whatever they talked about, even if it was the elderly woman ranting about something from the latest bingo night she went to. Why did she think calling her mother was a good idea? Why was it she always chose to make the worst decisions?

"Meow?"

Snapping out of it, Homura looked down at Ganko, who stared back up at her with curious eyes. Oh right, her kitten was probably hungry, it was well past dinner time and deep into the night. They both could use some food.

"Thanks for reminding me," Homura said, a weak smile as she stood up, the kitten following her to the kitchen.

She sat on the floor by the water dish, watching as Homura paced around, grabbing what she needed and putting away what she didn't. After a minute or two, a bright blue bowl with food was placed down by the dish, and Ganko happily began chowing down.

"I should probably eat, too," Homura murmured, opening the cabinet and then the fridge to see what all was in there. Really, she didn't feel like cooking tonight, but there didn't seem to be any leftovers in the fridge she could heat up. "Maybe I'll just go out and eat...maybe go to a ramen shop." On second thought, maybe not. The shop was across town. There was a convenience store much closer, but still quite a distance to walk.

Then again, a walk would do her good, maybe; the doctors had suggested some mild exercise and fresh air, and walking could help clear her mind, get it off its current track. She could pick something up and come back home. Then when she got home, if she hadn't managed to ease her mind, she could forget about being hungry, curl in bed and wallow in pity.

* * *

The streets were mostly empty, as was to be expected this late at night. Generally, she liked times like these, late at night when she could walk in quiet and not be trapped in the crowds during the day. Not have millions of unknown eyes watching her, waiting for her to trip or bump into someone. But she couldn't find it in her to enjoy it this night.

The entire walk, Homura couldn't stop thinking of her parents.

There were things she had always wondered, ever since she was just a small girl. Why did they prefer their jobs over her? Was it because she was born sick? Was that also the reason that Koji and Aiko hated each other, they blamed each other for her weakness, or had they always had that animosity, and Homura's birth was an unwanted accident that just fueled the fire?

These were questions she didn't like thinking about.

It had been a while since Homura had felt this low, not since around when she'd first befriended Sayaka. She thought she was over all of this, over her parents...why did it still hurt to think about? How could she wind up clinging to such a pathetic dream?

_They don't care for you._

"Of course they never cared about me...it was always lies when they said they did. I can't remember them ever showing me actual love..." She was only vaguely aware of herself answering these comments, her body hunched over as she walked.

_How could they love someone so weak?_

"The only thing they hate more than the weak is each other, and I have both in me..."

_They're better off without you._

"Its not like I've made any impact on their lives, like they'd care if something happened to me."

As she walked, her steps becoming unbalanced, her mind began to get hazier, as though a thick fog were settling with in it, making her thoughts cloudy. It was becoming harder to focus, and she didn't have the strength in her to struggle for clarity. The sweet voice continued talking to her. It felt familiar, as though she had felt a similar presence once before, but this was stronger...or closer. It was preying on her current resignations, coaxing out more and more despair from her.

It was hard to tell if her thoughts were her own anymore...

_It's not as though anyone needs you._

"You're right, I'm not needed by anyone, I just burden them. I'm useless and weak..."

She passed the convenience store, never looking up from the sidewalk. She'd become blind to her surroundings, only following the voice echoing through her mind.

_Even your friends will get sick of you eventually._

"Shizuki-san and Kamijou-san will forget about me sooner or later...Sayaka will move on too and find better-"

The image of Sayaka flashed through her mind, the girl smiling at her, laughing with her, crying to her. No...she wouldn't move on, she wouldn't leave Homura behind. Sayaka would never do something like that. She wasn't the type who would abandon her friends, not after what they'd been through! How could she think so poorly of Sayaka to say she'd do that?!

It was like Homura had snapped out of a trance...no, that was exactly what had happened. Her mind had whipped back into clarity, and the fog that had filled her thoughts was gone. She soon wished the fog would come back; that way she wouldn't have to see where she now was.

The area around her was no longer that of the city, instead, it looked as though it were something from a Tim Burton nightmare. The colors had all washed away, leaving only shades of gray to coat this new world, and many,  _many_  black and white stripes decorated the surroundings. Only Homura herself was still in color in this twisted world.

There were spirals everywhere and Homura could hear a distorted laughter from all around her. It didn't sound human. The only foliage around were leafless withered and gnarled trees, and even from here the middle schooler could see screaming and sobbing faces in them, was that actual blood running down from wooden eyes?

"W-Where...where am I?" Had she spoken it or thought it? She wasn't sure and she didn't care, what mattered was trying to find how to get out of here, but there didn't seem any way out. How had she even gotten in here? The strength in her legs seemed to leave as she sank to her knees, trying to process where she was, but it was a hard task when a loud screech echoed through this terrifying world.

From out of nowhere, as if they had suddenly materialized from the smoky air itself, several crows the size of cars began gliding by her. Their feathers were mostly gone, what few remained were mangled and twisted, but even with rotting flesh and bony wings they could still fly. Their beaks were made of steel, reminding Homura of a bear trap with the many sharp grooves. They looked as though they could easily crush anything with their beaks, and Homura dreaded to see what they would do to a person.

Every fiber in Homura's body screamed at her to get up and run, but she found herself paralyzed by fear. There was a deafening drumming in her ears as her heart raced, sending jolts of aches and pains through her chest as the tender muscle began going into overdrive. Cold sweat ran down her skin as she watched the small group fly away and caw at each other, and one began brutally pecking at the other, tearing its flesh apart with its beak and talons.

An eye went falling to the ground.

It didn't kill the other, but now Homura knew where all the gushing wounds came from on their tattered bodies.

So long as they continued attacking each other and not notice Homura, all should be okay. Feeling was slowly returning to her legs, so maybe, if she stayed slow and steady, she could sneak away from these monsters and find her way out of this nightmare world without being seen. She could go home, pretend this was a nightmare, pretend none of this ever-

A buzzing sound rang through her pocket and the air around her stilled.

The monster birds stopped their fighting when her phone alerted her of the dead battery and soon multiple beady red eyes locked onto the girl. Homura stayed motionless as they descended to perch on top of a building, never taking their eyes off her. Maybe she would be lucky and they were like dinosaurs: if she stayed still, they wouldn't see her.

Homura and the crows stayed still, locked in a silent and tense showdown. She could almost hear the seconds tick by slowly. Then, in unison, the crows spread their wings and let out another shrieking caw at her.

One of them, the one that had received the beating from its brethren, took a hop forward, let out its unnatural caws, and took flight. Directly towards Homura.

Her body froze, muscles and joints locking into place out of panic as the fear left her paralyzed, and her head began to feel light from the blood rushing about her body. The bird was closing fast and Homura could see blood stains in its rusty open beak, and knew her blood would soon join the dried bits after this monster crushed her in its cold steel maw.

...That demise never came.

Before it could hurt her, before it could even touch Homura, a flash of blue and white shot between them and a gush of gray blood sprayed out from the now-headless monster's neck as it fell to the ground and dissolved.

Homura could only look up, wide eyed as her savior landed in front of her, taking a stance between her and the remaining monsters before them. The cutlass she held in her hand was wet with the blood of the one demon crow on it, and her white cape billowed behind her even though there was no wind in this nightmare world.

"Homura, I need you to stay right there, can you do that for me?" Sayaka asked, her back still facing Homura, and all the other girl could do was nod meekly. Though it wouldn't be hard to obey, her body was still locked into place.

What was going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo a labyrinth finally appears and a wild Sayaka shows her head too. Hope you enjoy, this chapter is two days late on being posted on here.


	15. Exponere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize for the delay. This chapter is a bit slow, but I can assure you that the chapters following, things will start getting exciting again.

Though her time as a magical girl had not been long, and she was still very green to this new world, Sayaka would pride herself as doing well for a novice. While she had nothing to compare herself to other than Kyubey's words and opinions on her level of power compared to other magical girls, she still thought well of her strength and skill. She had managed to get used to the late night witch hunts and mastered sneaking out of her home quickly. That was quite a plus.

There were not a lot of witches in the city, not yet, so most nights were empty patrols, or hunting down a lone familiar. Very rarely had she found a witch, but that was about to change. Kyubey had explained that a powerful witch, a conglomeration witch, had lured many witches to the surrounding areas when it had arrived, but its death had left Mitakihara in a temporary peace. They were beginning to return, however, and soon their numbers and strength would grow back to the normal population that Mitakihara often held home to.

Kyubey assured her that so long as Sayaka continued to grow as a magical girl, she should have no problem handling them when they reached the city. So that's what Sayaka did: continue to practice and hunt, questioning Kyubey about what this new job entailed whenever a question came up.

It seemed that her magic was primarily healing related, as her wish had been to save Homura. Her magic would automatically and quickly heal her own wounds, but she felt as though there may be more to it. As well as healing, she had received a sword, and her love of music had been melded into her magic too. Healing and fighting, a good combination in her own opinion.

For the most part, Sayaka didn't care much about the witches she hunted. Destroying them, destroying the familiars, that was her duty. It was her duty as a magical girl to protect this city, to keep it safe from these despair-formed monsters.

But mostly, because it would keep  _Homura_  safe from these nightmares-made-real.

Perhaps it was wrong of her, but deep down inside of her, she could care less about this city and the countless lives within. Justice and love? Perhaps if things had been different, she would fight for that. She would fight to defend this city because it was the right thing to do. But she had changed; that wasn't who she was, not anymore. She didn't fight these witches for love, she didn't fight them for justice. She fought them to keep Homura safe.

Homura, who was the only anchor she had left in this world, the only force that was keeping her  _stable_ , and the only one who mattered to her anymore.

The anger she felt when she cut the familiar down before it could hurt her beloved friend...her blood had turned to ice when she saw the scene, and her her whole mind screamed to kill when her sword tasted the first drop of blood. She had not expected to find Homura in this labyrinth, and it had sent her into a merciless rage when she did.

More of the familiars had taken to the sky after Sayaka entered the scene, coming towards them like a volley of huge black arrows. Even from a distance, their rotting flesh filled the air with a disgusting stench.

She could feel Homura's eyes on her as Sayaka cut down the familiars as though they were nothing, never once letting a single feather or splatter of blood get close to the defenseless girl kneeling on the ground.

Despite their size, and despite their numbers, these familiars were terribly  _weak_. It wasn't impossible that it was because of the damage they suffered from each other, or maybe it was because Sayaka was just that strong. It didn't matter. All that mattered was how it only took a few well placed cuts to kill them.

"You okay, Homura?" Sayaka asked, landing beside her after the flock of familiars had been dealt with. Now she just had to find the witch...should she take Homura with her, or leave her here and trust that nothing would happen? She couldn't protect Homura and at the same time deal with the witch, could she? No, she would try, that was certain, but it would make the fight more difficult.

However, the labyrinth began to vanish around them, the area warping and twisting until it was gone and the two girls were left inside of an alley. Great, the witch had escaped...at least those familiars didn't even take very much magic to deal with. Sayaka would have to go after it, but it could wait until tomorrow. She had more important things to do right now.

"Homura?" the bluenette tried again, noting that her friend hadn't said anything, and turned to look at her. Homura was still staring wide-eyed at her, mouth opening and closing a few times as she struggled with what to say. As calmly as she could, Sayaka knelt before her and began checking for injuries. If that witch had harmed a single hair on her head...

"Sayaka..."

Hearing her name being spoken, the magical girl looked up and stared into terrified violet irises.

"W-What's...what was that...? W-What's going o-on?"

* * *

"Here," Sayaka said, handing Homura a warm cup of tea before taking a seat next to her, no longer in her magical girl outfit. Her mother had been understanding when she told her that she would be spending the night with Homura tonight, as Sayaka wasn't sure how well Homura would handle everything once it was all said and done. She was already worried enough about Homura right now. The labyrinth itself...Sayaka knew Homura, she knew that what happened in there was going to lead to a difficult night for her.

The smaller girl gave a shy nod, accepting the cup with both hands before staring back at the floor where Kyubey sat, thankfully remaining silent for now after introducing himself, seeing him talk had given Homura quite the fright. Ganko had long since ran off and hid somewhere after spending almost five minutes hissing at the creature.

"So," Sayaka said, seating herself next to Homura and staring up at the ceiling, "Where to begin..."

"At the beginning maybe," Homura responded dryly.

Fair enough, Sayaka mused. "Yeah, then, I'll give you the quick run through," she decided, not sure if Homura would want all the small details. "I'm a magical girl. I made a contract with Kyubey: in exchange for a wish, I was given magic and have to fight witches and their familiars. That's what attacked you earlier: familiars."

She watched as Homura stared down into her tea, saying nothing, and after a pause, Sayaka continued to talk. "Witches are nasty things. They lure people who are distressed or depressed into their labyrinths and kill them. According to Kyubey, they're responsible for a good chunk of unsolved murder cases and missing persons," she explained, her eyes never leaving Homura. "In fact, you remember the day we met and I didn't want you to go on that bridge because a lot of strange deaths had been happening around there? They were probably because of a witch." She could understand why this would be a lot for her to take in. It had been quite a shock to Sayaka herself when Kyubey told her everything, and seeing them for the first time had been been hard to take in as well.

One never gets used to the interior of a labyrinth, and it makes a person wonder what kind of mind is needed to create such a place.

"Were you ever intending to tell me? About all this?" Homura didn't look at Sayaka as she said that, and her grip on the teacup tightened.

A wave of guilt rushed through the other girl's body as she looked away. "Yeah...I was planning on it, eventually," she mumbled, still unable to look at her friend. It was true, she had no intention of hiding this from Homura, at least, not at first. But when she saw the labyrinths and the witches and their familiars...these weren't like the monsters from TV shows. They really killed people, and Sayaka hadn't always arrived just in the nick of time to stop them. Could she really bring Homura into that world and still be able to keep her safe? Would Homura have been able to handle the terror that this could instill in someone?

Ignorance is bliss, after all, and she would much rather Homura be in bliss than any other alternative.

"I just...I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know if, for your sake, I  _should_ ," she said, looking down at her lap, her own voice growing softer. "I wanted you to know, but at the same time, I didn't want to pull you into this world where you could get hurt. The idea of losing you, and losing you because I couldn't protect you...I can't handle that."

If something were to happen to Homura, if Sayaka were to lose her...she didn't know what she would do. Somewhere in her mind though, she knew what would happen. If Homura died, Sayaka would well and truly go over the brink that she had teetered on so much.

Homura remained silent after that, contemplating what Sayaka had said. Seconds ticked by and after what felt longer than it had been, she spoke. "Well...I'm glad that you weren't planning on keeping me out of this life of yours forever," she said, giving Sayaka a strained smile before looking away once more. She was still shaken by all that had happened, but the shock was wearing off. "I don't want to be kept in the dark, especially when it's something big, something like this."

"I'm sorry, for not telling you sooner."

The room was filled with silence once again after that. Neither Homura nor Sayaka said anything as they looked anywhere but at each other, Sayaka out of guilt for keeping this life hidden and Homura from the shock that still clung feebly to her. Each lost in their own thoughts as this strange curtain of tension descended upon them. Kyubey, due to his silence since they came into the apartment, had been all but forgotten by the two girls as he sat contently on the floor watching them.

But soon enough, a mental click went off in Sayaka's mind as she thought back to what she had said earlier, and her attention was locked on Homura as she stared at her with wide, alarmed eyes.

"Wait, how did you get brought to the labyrinth? Homura, did something happen?"

If Homura had been targeted by a witch, then, what had happened to make her distressed enough to fall prey to the empty words of those monsters? If someone hurt her and that was why...Sayaka could feel her fists clenching with anger coursing through her now.

Homura gave a jump of surprise at that, looking at Sayaka with wide eyes before looking away just as fast, unable to meet her friend's eyes. Though she wasn't as quick to hide the emotions her eyes showed, the hurt and the pain. "It was...nothing...I just got upset over something stupid..." she explained quickly. Though it wasn't a lie, it wasn't the complete truth, and Sayaka could tell that much.

Homura could feel everything bubbling up within her. The terror, the stress and the same despair that led her to this in the first place.

"Homura..." Sayaka said, reaching out to her. "Please, what happened?" she repeated, this time more gentle, more coaxing. She didn't want to scare the other into keeping what happened hidden. Something drove Homura to the clutches of the witch and she wanted to know what. Part of keeping Homura safe from witches was making her less appealing to them in the first place.

The ravenette was silent for a short while before answering, "Remember...r-remember before the trip to Kazamino? When you asked why my parents would be out of the country while I was in the hospital?"

Sayaka blinked, thinking back to that day, and gave a slow nod. "Yeah, though I get why they would now. Your parents are assholes, Homura." At first she had been shocked when she had only heard of them, but meeting them had shown her how vile they really were. They didn't  _deserve_  someone like Homura, the girl deserved so much better. Then another mental click happened. "Wait...do they have something to do with this?"

Another pause, and Sayaka wondered if she'd said something wrong. She glanced at Kyubey who sat in silence watching, and when she looked back at Homura her eyes shot open in surprise.

She was crying.

"Y-Yeah," Homura said, rubbing at one of her eyes to try and get the tears to stop, but her voice started to break soon after. "I talked t-to my mother today...and...I don't know why I b-bother anymore," she said, barely able to keep from sobbing. "They  _hate_  me, why d-don't they just stop p-paying for my meds and operations and let me die?"

Sayaka was not used to this situation. Had she ever seen Homura this upset? She couldn't say, but it was a jarring scene.

"No, look, I'm sure they don't hate you." Though, really, Sayaka couldn't say she believed her own words after her first meeting with them. What had they  _done_  to Homura this time? Oh, how she wished she could wring their damned necks right now.

Homura didn't say anything, wiping away more of her tears.

Then, after another uncomfortably long pause, Homura finally set her teacup aside and spoke, "Yes, t-they do. My father's said as much plenty of t-times, and my m-mother...she doesn't say it b-but, you just know w-when she looks at you. T-That hidden disgust b-because of how weak I am, h-how  _pathetic_ ," she spat out the words, glowering at the floor.

Unsure what to do, unsure what she could say to make her think otherwise, Sayaka just wrapped her arms around her.

"Just forget about them, okay?" she asked, pressing her face into Homura's hair, holding her tightly. "They don't matter." I'll kill them if I see them. "What they said doesn't matter." They don't deserve Homura. "You have me, okay? I'm here, and no matter what anyone says, you're not weak, and you're not pathetic. You're stronger than you know, Homura." Stronger than me.

Homura didn't say anything, just wrapped her arms around Sayaka in return and stopped holding back tears as Sayaka held her, whispering words of comfort to her, assuring her of her own worth.

Never once did Kyubey say anything to interrupt them. Even he knew that now was not the right moment to offer Homura a miracle. So the alien stood up while Sayaka continued to hold Homura, and turned around to leave. Tomorrow, when Homura was calmed down, he could set to work trying to contract her. It would be wiser to check on Kyouko and see how she was doing.


	16. Venari Strigas

Sayaka's first thought when she opened her eyes was that she was in a labyrinth, but as far as barriers went, this one felt the most normal. The most peaceful. Labyrinths were anything and everything...except bland and boring. There was not a single strand of malice that Sayaka could feel, and as far as she saw, it appeared she was the only living being within it, not counting the foliage of course, if an expanse of grass counted as foliage.

Taking one last glance around her, Sayaka began walking along the smooth and light brown path.

The farther she walked, the more the scenery around her changed, adding more color to the world. From the grass on either side of the path, flowers began to spring up. Roses, in fact. First, there were just a few and widely spaced out, but before long the roses were all Sayaka could see for miles. Just the different colors blended together on each side of the path.

Looking to one side, there were blue and purple roses standing tall and close together side by side. Familiar black hair and violet eyes sprung to Sayaka's mind and she gave herself a private smile. It almost looked like the blue roses were protecting the smaller purple ones.

She didn't even notice the yellow and pink roses on the other side, coiled around each other in a delighted embrace, yet she was somehow aware they were there, no more unexpected or interesting than clouds in the sky.

Really, Sayaka didn't know where she was going. The young girl was just going where her feet took her, and it felt as though something was almost tugging her forward, coaxing her to continue down the path. A soft voice, far too sweet and gentle to be a witch, but too distorted to be human, echoed in her mind, whispering that her reward for all she's done lay at the end of the road.

But the road went on for miles, there didn't seem to be an end to it.

At least the ground was not hard beneath her bare feet. It was firm but soft, like a short carpet, and a comforting coolness to the soft flesh.

_Keep moving forward. That's right, you're getting closer._

There was no reason to argue, at least, she didn't see one, nor did she feel the need to question any of this. Instead, Sayaka continued to walk in silence on this brown path laid between rows of roses. Was it just her, or was that the soft melody of a violin she could hear up ahead?

Looking back to the left, back to the blue and purple roses, Sayaka could only blink in confusion and slow her walking.

The roses that had been lining her path with such beautiful colors were gone. Her path was still walled by roses, but neither of purple and blue, nor yellow and pink. No, they were dark as can be, with thorns that seemed to bleed. An ominous feeling took the air as the bright light began to dim until Sayaka could no longer see very well.

Sayaka needed to go, this place wasn't safe.

The music had suddenly gone from its soft delicate whisper to a terrifying roar and she could recognize the symphony for  _Ave Maria_  filling the air. It was deafening, and it only grew louder with each note that was played on that hellish violin.

A wet sensation began running down the side of her head...was her ear bleeding?

She tried to bring an arm up to touch, to see if it was indeed blood, but she could barely move. Something had wrapped itself around her, some unseen thread, preventing her from moving despite her struggling to break free.

The violin was so loud, Sayaka couldn't even hear herself think anymore. Note after note crashed into her so hard her entire body vibrated with it. The wet ground was freezing now, and it'd become hard to wiggle her bare and frostbitten toes...so cold they were cracking...when had the ground started getting wet? As though it had always been wet yet never at the same time.

Above her the moon was grinning wickedly, blood covering sharp teeth planted on a hideous face.

A small glint of light from that red and laughing orb above shined down on her, a spotlight and Sayaka was taking center stage. She could see what had coiled around her: fishing line.

The music had reached a crescendo; no longer was it playing  _Ave Maria_  but some mash of notes of its own creation. The world shook with every verse and the climax was about to be reached and then everything would be over, the song would end and drift into a deathly silence.

Suddenly Sayaka was drowning, the music made dull by the murky waters surrounding her as the girl sank deeper and deeper below. Currents crashed around her, grasping and grabbing, pulling her farther into the aquatic world.

Her lungs were burning for air, her legs, freed, kicking desperately to reach the surface, to take in a breath of life.

A scream rang through the water, not Sayaka's.

She opened her eyes, no longer in water, but instead on a familiar couch in a familiar home not her own. Her heart was racing, her fingers twitching as the adrenaline coursed through her body. Someone had screamed, waking her up from that dream...someone screamed... _Homura_!

Quickly, Sayaka threw the blanket off of her, tumbling off the couch as she scrambled to the kitchen. Seconds later she burst into the room, transformed into her magical uniform and a cutlass sprang to her hand.

"Homura! What's wrong, what happened?" Sayaka demanded, scanning the room for any threat, but all she saw was Kyubey sitting on the table, and Ganko in front of Homura hissing at him. But there didn't appear to be any danger in here. What had happened?

The girl in question had her back to the wall, head buried in her hands as she trembled, and lifted her head to stare at Sayaka with wide, terrified eyes.

"It...it wasn't a dream...it...Sayaka, last night...last night was  _real_ , w-wasn't it?" The poor girl, she had thought that all that had occurred the previous night was nothing more than a terrible dream. But awaking and meeting Kyubey again had only brought life back to what she had thought was a nightmare. "Those...those monsters are out there, hurting people...I...I c-could have died."

Without saying anything, Sayaka stepped towards her, wrapping her arms around Homura in a comforting hug, "I'm sorry, I really do wish it'd just been a dream for you, I really do." Had she reacted like Homura had when learning of what she had to do now? Maybe. She just wasn't allowed to stay scared. "But you're not going to die. I'm not going to let you get hurt by those  _things_  ever again, do you hear me? Do you understand?" Her tone had turned deathly serious. But she was honest, Sayaka would sooner die than let any familiar or witch harm Homura.

After a minute or two, Homura had recovered from her slap by reality, and Sayaka, who had changed back out of the magical girl outfit, had led her to sit at the table before fetching some cereal for the both of them. She knew where everything was in this kitchen by this point, and was able to keep an eye on Homura while rummaging through the cabinets and fridge.

"Do you always fight those...things?" Homura asked softly after Sayaka returned with a bowl for each of them, sitting across from her at the table. "Are there other...are there other magical girls in the city too?"

Before Sayaka could respond, Kyubey stepped forward and began speaking, making Homura flinch, "Miki Sayaka is in fact the only current magical girl in this city. The two previous ones were killed fighting Walpurgisnacht prior to my contract with her."

Wait, what? Two others, but they died? Sayaka hadn't been told that yet, and sure, she assumed whoever had been here previously was gone but not dead. But, hearing him saying it, her mind went to Madoka and Mami. What if they had been magical girls as well? It certainly would explain why they had been outside that night, and even more why Madoka had started keeping secrets and always running off- no.

No, don't think about it. There is no way that was what happened, there was no way Madoka would be fighting these monsters.

Shoveling spoonfuls of cereal into her mouth, and lost in thought, Sayaka didn't catch what Homura had said after that, but she had certainly heard what Kyubey suggested.

"Then why not make a contract and become a magical girl also?" the creature offered, his face the picture of innocence.

The chair toppled to the ground only moments after as Sayaka shot up to stand, earning a startled and a blank gaze upon her.

"Absolutely not!" Sayaka shouted, a glare focused onto Kyubey, hands curling into fists. The thought of Homura contracting and going into the kind of danger Sayaka faced so often now, she wouldn't allow it. She would  _never_  allow it. "Don't you even think of bringing Homura into this too! I'm not letting her fight these witches, I'm not letting her go into that danger!"

Kyubey didn't appear fazed at all by the order, and tilted his head to the side. "Why not? It would make the hunts more efficient and you would be more successful having a partner."

"It's too dangerous for her!"

"But together, your odds of survival would be better than just you or her separately."

"Doesn't excuse putting her at risk!"

The two just stared at each other, neither seeming to acknowledge the subject of their debate watching them nervously.

"Um..." Homura began, clearing her throat to gain their attention as she stood up and collected her bowl, barely touched, "I think, I don't think I'll make a contract. Not right now, um, Sayaka clearly won't be happy, and I don't think I would be of help," she said, dipping her head apologetically to Kyubey. She didn't want to upset Sayaka by becoming a magical girl too. Besides, Homura didn't even know if she _wanted_  to become one.

This was still a lot to take in after all.

For her part, Sayaka was grateful to hear Homura say that. Instinct had her nearly arguing that Homura wouldn't be useless in a fight, but if thinking that would keep her from joining in, then it was something Sayaka would have to let slide.

Dumping her own bowl into the sink, she turned to take Homura's from her and did the same to it. "Come on, Homura, we got to get ready or we'll be late!" she said, tugging her out of the kitchen and away from Kyubey. It was best to change the subject, away from contracts and witches and to something more  _normal_. "Don't want to be late on your first day after all!"

"Wait, Sayaka, won't you need to go home to get your things?" Homura asked as she was pulled along after her, Ganko following.

Sayaka didn't slow in her step as she made it to Homura's room. "Nah, I have a spare notebook in my locker I can use for notes. Just hope I don't get called on to read."

"What about your clothes?"

"Ehehehe, you wouldn't have a spare uniform I could borrow, do you?"

* * *

Not too long after, Sayaka and Homura came to the school building, Sayaka wearing a uniform a size too small for her, borrowed of course from Homura. Said girl was staring up at the building in awe...had it always been so big?

"Yo, Earth to Homura, anyone there?" Sayaka asked, waving a hand in front of Homura's face to get her attention, causing the girl to blink a few times in surprise. "Ah, finally got your attention, have I?"

Letting out a startled "eep", Homura ducked her head in embarrassment. "Sorry," she mumbled.

But Sayaka just laughed and gave her a light smack on the back to get her walking. Saying how it was all good, no problem that Homura was spacing out, just so long as she didn't walk into a wall or door. "You need to stay sharp, Homura, first day back, got to be ready for all the attention you're gonna get. I mean, man, your popularity has really skyrocketed while you were gone, you've left your poor wife in the dust!"

Wife? When did Sayaka start calling Homura her wife? Had Homura just not noticed this title being used before? No, she would have noticed.

If Sayaka had felt out of place about suddenly calling her that, she didn't show it.

However, when the two stepped into the crowded halls, Homura could feel dozens upon dozens of eyes upon them, making her inch closer to Sayaka as though to hide behind her from the gazes. She didn't want all these people looking at her, and could hear them whispering.

But, when a student is taken to the hospital and on the brink of death, it does garner these reactions when said student returns with a clean bill of health. She couldn't blame them because of that.

Just, as they walked, all Homura could hope for was that things went back to normal and people forgot that she was even there.

That hope was quickly extinguished when they got to homeroom. Homura had barely sat down before she had classmates surrounding her desk and asking questions. It was as though it was her first day at school all over again. Now she recognized the faces but still didn't know the names of them, and they were all around her, wanting to know things she didn't know how to explain or didn't want to talk about.

Why were people always so curious?

"Hey now, hey now, back up and give her some space, alright?" Sayaka asked, or rather demanded as she shoved past a few students so she could be at Homura's side again. "You're crowding her, just back off, it's her first day back, you have the rest of the year to pester her."

Begrudgingly, the students backed off until it was just Sayaka beside her.

"Thanks," Homura mumbled in relief. It certainly was well and dandy to have them away from her again. But it did make her feel happy that so many had been worried, even if most of it was from curiosity.

"Don't sweat it," Sayaka returned, taking a seat at the desk next to hers to keep watching over her.

It wasn't long after that when the teacher came in. Looking upset and annoyed, it was clear she had to deal with another breakup, and the students knew what that meant. She almost garnered some sympathy from Sayaka who reluctantly left Homura's side to take her own seat.

"Class!" Saotome announced, gaining the attention of all in the room.

When they all had their eyes on her, the teacher dove right into her rant about how whether a roll of toilet paper is put with the end being over or under should not matter at all in a relationship, confirming of course that her relationship had hit a rocky path recently. She, as usual, sent focus onto Nakazawa with the final question of if it should matter or not, with him giving his usual "either way" answer, and a few students snickered in response to this before a glare silenced them.

"Now then," the teacher said, calmed down now, and gave the class a warm smile, "I would like to announce that, if you haven't already noticed, Akemi Homura has returned to us." All eyes fell on the girl who shrunk back into her seat in fear, and a few claps from Saotome brought attention to the front again. "Now, I want you guys not to overwhelm her, she's been in the hospital and I'm sure she doesn't want to talk about everything that has happened."

There were a few murmurs from students agreeing to her request, and Sayaka could only nod. While Saotome Kazuko could be an oddball at times with her romance rants, and sometimes worked her griping into her lessons, she was a good teacher.

The rest of the day before lunch had been normal enough, classes weren't any more difficult than before, though Sayaka could see Homura struggling to keep up. Understandable with how long she'd been out of classes. It made Sayaka's heart hurt when she glanced back to check up on her only to see the panicked and fearful look whenever Homura found herself unable to understand anything that was being said.

She would have to work hard with Homura after school to help her catch up. Then again, Sayaka was barely able to keep up with what was going on herself. A month-plus behind in school...the reasons were good, but this was going to be an uphill battle to get back up to speed.

The lectures droned on slowly, and Sayaka tried her best to focus, but she would often find herself turning her head to stare at Homura a few seats ahead of her. A small smile would form whenever her eyes landed on her friend, but would fall as a small voice in the back of her mind forced Sayaka to tear her eyes away from Homura so she could watch the teacher, before going back to staring at her friend a few minutes later.

She'd never been as happy to have Homura sit in the rows in front of her; Homura was already having trouble with everyone else staring at her, she didn't need to know about another pair of eyes fixed on her, though if only they could be seated closer.

At last, after a few classes had come and gone at an agonizingly slow pace, it was time for lunch. Sayaka had to drag Homura away from her desk and out of the classroom before she could get swarmed by students and escorted her to the roof as though she were a bodyguard. Though in the bluenette's mind, that was exactly what she was to Homura.

Waiting for them on the roof were Hitomi and Kyosuke, both with their lunches out, though untouched until the two girls arrived, their intertwined hands quickly separating upon spotting them. A thankfully dulled pain tore through Sayaka's chest but she chose to ignore it. They gave pleased, if not relieved, smiles at seeing them and Hitomi was the first to stand, closing the distance to take hold of Homura's hands.

"Homura-san! I'm so glad to see you're okay," Hitomi said. She made a move as though she were about to hug the smaller girl before rethinking it and taking a few steps back. "I- we were so worried about you."

"You had us pretty scared," Kyosuke chimed in, his voice softer as the girls took their seats. "You were in pretty bad shape, the doctors were saying you wouldn't..." He paused to straighten his words. He'd been the person people were scared for, never the one who was scared for the life of another. Finding what to say was hard. "Excuse me. It's just great to have you back, safe and sound."

Wrapping an arm around Homura, Sayaka smiled widely at the others. "Oh, cut it out you two! You make it sound like Homura was gonna die!" she said, waving them off and grinning down at the dark-haired girl. "But our dear Homura here is stronger than that! No pesky heart problem is going to kill her off, ain't that right?"

Homura just gave a smile, ducking her head to hide her embarrassment instead of answering Sayaka.

When she'd come back from the hospital the first time all those months ago, she hadn't been greeted like this. She'd been swarmed by students she didn't know, questioned on things she didn't want to talk about. She didn't have  _friends_  who were genuinely concerned and happy to have her back. She'd just been alone and lost, but there had been a silver lining at the end of that day in the form of one Miki Sayaka.

It was hard for Homura to imagine where she would have been if she hadn't met and become friends with Sayaka, but she had a sinking feeling that her life wouldn't have been very pleasant.

The rest of the lunch period was spent with the four talking and joking, sometimes snagging a piece of food from someone else's lunch. The girls had set up a time to get together so Hitomi could help them with some much-needed studying, and Kyosuke and Homura shared a few hospital jokes and talked about their own recoveries. Homura found out that in another month or so, Kyosuke would be able to walk without his crutches, and with Hitomi he was getting better at letting go over the loss of being able to use his hand and play the violin, which Homura was glad to hear about.

Surprisingly, Hitomi was still receiving love letters despite dating Kyosuke, a fact that earned the couple a few teasing remarks from Sayaka about how Kyosuke better step up his game or Hitomi will be taken out from under his nose. That earned the playful retort from Hitomi of how if Sayaka didn't step up  _her_  game, she was going to lose Homura to the boys when they finally grow the spine to confess to her.

"Nonsense! My wife would never leave me for some boy!" Sayaka proclaimed, wrapping an arm around Homura and pulling her close.

"Ooh?" Hitomi asked, an amused smile on her face as she took in Sayaka's confident demeanor and the burning red cheeks of Homura. "She's your wife now? Why wasn't I invited to your wedding? I'm insulted, Sayaka, simply insulted."

Childishly, Sayaka stuck her tongue out at Hitomi. "It was rushed, we didn't have time to send out invitations," she explained with a wide grin. "Sorry, Kyosuke, but I got the cutest wife. If you and Hitomi ever tie the knot, you can have title to being married to the second cutest."

All the while, Homura's cheeks just got hotter and hotter. It had been a long time since she was allowed on roller coasters, but this sure felt like one. Wife? Marriage? When did this all happen? Why was Sayaka now calling her by such titles? She could feel her heart start beating rapidly in her chest as her mind started going through different scenarios as she imagined herself as Sayaka's devoted wife- _Nonono, don't. Sayaka is just joking around, she doesn't mean it, it's just friendly playful joking._

Too lost in her thoughts over this, Homura tuned out the rest of the conversation. Acutely aware that Sayaka still hand her arm around her, her mind was rushing between indulging in little innocent fantasies to quickly shooting them down with logic. She never even noticed the bell ringing telling them lunch was almost over until Sayaka was waving a hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"Sheesh, way to space out there, Homura. Is it just me or are you getting better at that?" Sayaka teased, patting her on the head and helping the girl stand up before tugging her to follow as the group made their way off the roof. "Come on, we gotta head to class, you don't wanna be late, do you?" Her grin grew as Homura just shook her head quietly, trying to kill the blush that was still burning on her cheeks.

But when Sayaka laughed and told her to stop being cute, the burning only increased as did the the racing of her heart.

* * *

Just as the morning classes had, the rest of the day went by annoyingly slowly. There were a few moments where time seemed to stop, but at least it was just boring, not hard. As usual, Homura and Sayaka were getting ready to walk back home together. Their bags were over their shoulders and they were in the stream of students that were leaving the building.

"So, where should we go first? The mall as usual? Or maybe head back to your place to do some studying?" Sayaka asked. Both were good ideas. The mall was always a fun place to go to relax and have fun, but both girls needed to catch up on their schoolwork if they were going to have a chance to graduate this school year on time.

But before a decision could be made, the familiar white creature that Sayaka was still angry at chose to show up behind them. "Neither would be wise right now. A witch has appeared," Kyubey said, butting into the conversation.

He ignored the glare Sayaka sent him as she took out her soul gem, and sure enough, she could feel the tug, the familiar sensation. "Well...you're not lying." She sighed and turned to Homura. "You head home, I'll meet with you when this is done."

She expected Homura to say "okay" and head on to her place. She needed her to say that.

"No," Homura said instead, shaking her head and clutching her bag, "I'm...I'm going with you." Her voice shook at first but she had steadied it by the end.

Sayaka just stared at her a good few moments in amazement and confusion. What had she just said? She's coming with? "Absolutely not!" Sayaka yelled, louder than she meant to but the point had been made. "You're not coming with me, Homura. It's too dangerous, you saw what it's like in those labyrinths!"

"That's why I'm coming with!" Homura shot back, standing her ground firmly. "You're the only magical girl in the city, and these witches are dangerous. If there's any way I can help, I'm going to do it!" She had this odd fire in her eyes when she said that, a determination that Sayaka couldn't say she'd seen in her before...and she wasn't sure if it made her feel encouraged or worried.

Thankfully no one seemed to pay much mind to either of them as the students walked past them. No strange looks, no nothing.

"But-" Sayaka began, though it was clear nothing she said would change Homura's mind. Now Sayaka was stuck between two hard choices: upset Homura by refusing to let her help like she so badly wanted to do and let her worry the entire time, or let Homura come where her life could be in danger which itself was a choice that Sayaka despised. Make Homura happy or keep Homura safe; both were important.

With both sets of eyes on her, Sayaka gave a frustrated sound of defeat.

"Fine! You can come!" she shouted, but Homura instead of flinching gave this wide smile that made Sayaka feel a little better about her decision. "Not unarmed though," she added quickly. Like Hell she was going to let Homura go in with her without something to defend herself with.  _Shouldn't even need to defend herself._

But Homura just nodded in understanding, and there was a trace of nervousness on her face. Even she understood that going in without a weapon would be foolish.

"Look, just...just stay here, I'll be right back," Sayaka told her, hurrying back into the building and pushing past a few students leaving.

Her mind was running down a list of what she could give to Homura to protect her. A gun- no, Homura would never use a gun, and she wouldn't find one in the school building. Something from the gym equipment closet would be best. A bat or something, just something that could hit hard.

Upon reaching the closet, Sayaka pulled the doors open and flicked on the lights. Thank God that the faculty leaves the closet unlocked during school hours for club meetings and solo practicing. There were many options here and there. Several bags of sports gear, balls, a few rackets and baseball bats here and there. Sayaka even spotted the very same bat she'd taken when she rescued Homura from the bullies months ago...she grinned a little at the thought of Homura taking a turn putting it through its paces before shaking her head

"Not this...no...no..." she muttered to herself as she pushed and arranged the items within, trying to find the perfect weapon for Homura. Did it even matter what she gave the girl though? No, it did matter, whatever she gave Homura had to be perfect. The perfect weapon for defense.

After pushing away a large pommel horse, Sayaka stared at the bag before her, and a smile started to form.

"Hello there," she said, reaching towards it. It was safe to say that she had found the perfect weapon for her beloved friend.

After grabbing the weapon and running down the halls to return to Homura, ignoring the strange looks a few students gave her at seeing her in such a hurry with what she was holding. When she'd reached outside where Kyubey and Homura were waiting exactly where she'd left them, Sayaka presented the item she'd carried with her.

"Here you go, this ought to be enough to keep you safe," she said, watching as Homura took it from her.

There was a pause as Homura stared and analyzed her "weapon," confusion in her eyes as she looked up at Sayaka. "It's just a golf club."

Sayaka just smiled, took her hand in hers and started walking. "Yes it is, and now you can bash in the heads of any familiar that tries to get you," she said with a confident nod, clearly exaggerating how much damage a simple golf club was going to do to a familiar.

Thankfully, Homura offered no argument as she walked with Sayaka. Despite the danger a witch being present held, the girl was in no real rush. She was more than happy to just walk at a casual pace, and holding Homura's hand in her own did help to keep her from racing off into the danger, not to mention the longer Homura was away from danger, the better.

Kyubey was following behind them as always, watching but not saying anything as Sayaka led the way, soul gem in her free hand guiding them to where they needed to go. Despite how much she hated having to let Homura come along, there was a side of her that was excited for the chance to show off to Homura. To amaze her with her fighting skills, to show her how much of a hero she could be by protecting her. Maybe that was why she'd reluctantly agreed to this; she hadn't changed quite as much as she thought.

"You can back out whenever you want, Homura. You don't have to come if you're scared," Sayaka said as they drew closer to the target, making sure to remind Homura every chance she got that there was no requirement that the meek girl come along and put herself in danger.

But Homura shook her head stubbornly, her grip on both Sayaka's hand and the golf club tightening in nervous and fearful energy.

So determined, how cute.

"Just make sure to do as I say then, got it?" Sayaka asked, no, ordered, which received an obedient nod. Hopefully she would keep that promise when things started to get exciting.

Then, they were there.

The labyrinth was all washed out shades of gray, withered and dead trees littered around the place. It looked as though everything was dead inside this place but the three who had just entered.

What luck; it was the same witch from the previous night, and the bird familiars didn't seem happy to see Sayaka at all. The witch must have remembered her. That would make this fun; Sayaka wanted to finish her own job, too.

"Kyubey, stick with Homura," Sayaka ordered as she took another step forward; she didn't need them separate and have to focus on protecting both. As he began trotting closer to Homura, Sayaka mentally added to him,  _And don't talk to Homura about contracting to lend me a hand._  She had a feeling that if Kyubey felt things were falling out of favor in the fight, then he would offer Homura, poor, sweet, well-intentioned Homura, a chance to help Sayaka.

It was completely unnecessary; Sayaka had this under control.

The first few familiars came flying their way, but a few swords thrown and the birds were falling to the ground dead, more wounds to their rotten forms. Loud caws filled the air and more came hurtling after their fallen brethren but soon suffered the same fate.

"Come on!" Sayaka yelled to the others as she began running. They needed to get to the heart of the labyrinth to find the witch.

There were more familiars the deeper they got, but Sayaka was too fast and too focused for them. She was determined not to let a single one of them live, not after last night. Not after what they tried to do.

The deeper they got, the darker things got, not just in lighting. There were trails of blood on the ground now, bones scattered around...human bones. Sayaka had a feeling they weren't just conjured up as decorations, either.

She could hear Homura whimper as they walked, nearly tripping over a bone, and Sayaka wanted so badly to step back and grab her hand, to lead her out of this patch of Hell. But no, she had a job to do, and Homura wouldn't let her just back out of this for her sake.

"Just a little farther, come on," Sayaka told her, and she was right. Just a few more feet and they had come across a wide open space. In the middle...there she was. The witch.

Rotten black wings sprouted from her back, long oily black hair that put Homura's to shame in terms of length covered her face. She looked like a monstrously ugly fusion between a woman and a bird. Somewhere in the back of Sayaka's mind, she remembered the term "harpy" from mythology. Yeah, the Harpy Witch, that would be a good description of this one, and it sure was hideous enough to fit the label.

She had held out her arm to stop Homura from moving any farther forward. That golf driver wasn't going to do much to protect her from here on out, not that Sayaka gave her a chance to swing it around in the first place.

"Stay here, where you're safe. I'll take care of the witch," she said, pushing Homura into a small crevice made by a dense clump of trees. It would work well enough as a shield for her, the familiars far too big to reach her within. As she moved to leave, Homura reached out to her, earning a smile from the magical girl. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Homura just pulled her hand back, grip tightened on the golf club. "Be...be careful, please."

But Sayaka was already running to the witch at full speed, smile still on as she knew she had an audience this time.

To make it even better, Sayaka had a bone to pick with this witch in particular. After all, it had tried to hurt Homura, and that was something Sayaka couldn't forgive. Not that she would forgive it of its crimes to begin with. It was a witch, after all. A monster.

The wings on the witch, full of gnarled and rotting black feathers like its familiars, rose and in one movement arched downwards as if pointing at her. A flurry of feathers, sharp as knives, launched towards Sayaka. But she didn't slow down, not as the feathers sliced through skin and clothing, not as they dug deep into her skin before coming out the other side. She just kept running, blue transparent runes hovering over her skin as the injuries began healing.

It wasn't as though Sayaka  _felt_  the pain they were intended to inflict.

A few more bounds and Sayaka jumped high to reach the Harpy Witch's perch. Her cutlass came down in a smooth arc and sliced through the monster's shoulder. Black began seeping and splattering as the witch struggled under her blade.

She liked it when she found the ones that bled.

Another rain of feathers came, and this close, Sayaka was being pushed high into the air along with them as the bullet-like objects cut and pierced her body, causing a sprinkle of blood over the witch.

Homura cried out in fear in the distance, and Sayaka felt a smile on her face as she began falling.

Sword held firm, she brought it down right onto the witch, slicing into one of those rotten wings. The shriek of pain was music to her ears, a sweet symphony to the roaring drums of adrenaline in her heart as she lifted up her sword and brought it back down and this time she cleaved the wing off completely.

Hands with talons in place of nails came up at her, clawing at her skin. A deep gnash was made across Sayaka's face, but the pain and blood was ignored as she brought her sword up again and thrust it down, repeating the process over and over again as she hacked at the witch. This was brutal, her attacks vicious and merciless. She'd never fought a witch like this, she'd never just gone out of control. But this witch had crossed a line it shouldn't have.

It had tried to kill Homura, tried to  _hurt_  her. This witch had tried to take away Sayaka's best friend from her, from the whole world. It was something Sayaka could not forgive, and punishment for that sin was this violent death.

Sayaka wasn't even aware of her own soft laughter, or knew what she was muttering to this witch as the desperate grip on her was loosened.

Her sword was now drenched in blood, the witch below her barely recognizable; at least Sayaka found her more pleasant to look at now than before she attacked. But, oh would you look at that, there was still a spark of life to this monster's eyes. Sayaka would have to fix that, and fix it she did. Sword at the Harpy Witch's neck, a little bit of pressure, and the tip was now hard against the ground under the witch's body which was fast dissolving.

Only then did the laughter die down.

The labyrinth quickly began shifting and dissolving around them, leaving the three back in the normal world as the resulting grief seed clinked on the ground. Though still cut up, Sayaka didn't feel any pain, and her magic went to quick work healing her back up, though the blood remained.

"Congratulations," Kyubey said as he walked from where Homura stood. "It was quite interesting seeing you defeat the witch in such a new manner," he continued, looking up at the bloodied girl.

"Yeah, well, glad you thought it was interesting," Sayaka said with a grin, though something didn't settle right with her in how he called it interesting.

Kyubey continued to stare up at her with unblinking eyes for a few more moments before turning around and walking away. "I will take my leave now, I have some business I need to attend to. I wish you a good night, Miki Sayaka, Akemi Homura," and with that he was gone, as though he morphed into the shadows.

Shrugging his departure and words off, Sayaka swiped and pocketed the grief seed. As she turned to look at Homura, she opened her mouth to ask if she was ready to leave, but the fearful look on the innocent face that stared right at Sayaka had silenced the question before it was asked.

"Homura, what's wrong?" Sayaka asked, quickly making her way towards her, watching the golf club shake in her hands. She knew this was a bad idea, she shouldn't have brought her here, she should have said no despite how insistent Homura was. It was clearly too much for Homura and now she was scared, or wait, had she gotten hurt? Had she gotten hit by one of the feathers and Sayaka not noticed? Stupid, she should have paid closer attention to her. This labyrinth was too awful a place for her- why was Homura backing away from her?

"Homura...?"

The look on the dark haired girl's face told her she wasn't afraid of what happened in the labyrinth; she was looking in fear at Sayaka.

Sayaka took another step, and Homura mirrored it with another step back. "Homura, what's wrong? It's me, Sayaka, I'm nothing to be scared of," she said, trying again only to get the same results.

Golf club still secured tightly in shaking hands, Homura could only stare at her friend in fright, eyes focused specifically on the bright red of blood that stained the white fabric and ran down Sayaka's skin. Not just her own but the blood of the witch that had been newly colorized was heavily mixed in. "You...w-what you did in there," she said shakily. What she saw in there, that couldn't have been Sayaka, the brutality when fighting, no, _slaughtering_  the familiars and the witch, the bloodlust that even Homura could see from her hiding spot.

It scared her.

This was...this was something new to both of them. Sayaka could not remember a moment since knowing Homura where she had such a fearful look to her, not even when they first met and she had almost been scared of everyone. For her part, Homura remembered Sayaka as the one who got her  _through_  scary times, not the cause of them. What they had found themselves in, it was frightening.

"I killed a witch," Sayaka offered, hands out in a desire for peace, not understanding why Homura was so scared. She killed a monster, she kept Homura  _safe_! Why was she scared of her now? Why?

"Y-Yes but...you...it looked l-like you w-were..."  _You looked like a monster,_  was what Homura wanted to say, but was unable to form the words. Unable to hurt Sayaka by saying something like that, despite how scared she may be right now of the person she saw fighting. "It didn't l-look like...you, you went o-overboard."

Overboard?

It felt as though a string within Sayaka had been pulled taut with the threat of snapping looming in the air.

Sayaka didn't know what to say or what to think. It hurt seeing Homura so scared of her when all she was doing was protecting her, and now she thought Sayaka went overboard? Sayaka killed the witch that tried to kill her, she  _killed the monster_  that tried to  _kill Homura_! There was no way she could go overboard! That monstrosity deserved every ounce of pain it got for even trying to lay a finger on Homura, it deserved all the pain and more even!

No, she didn't go overboard, there was no overboard, she should have done more to make it suffer!

Didn't Homura understand how important she was to Sayaka? How much her safety and happiness meant to her?

No, Sayaka would do that to any witch or familiar that tried to harm her- no, not just them, but she would hunt anyone who hurt her Homura and make them pay! If someone tried to make Homura suffer, they had no right to live!

Her grip on her cutlass tightened, and her anger was rising. But there was a new look of terror that she saw and- oh God, that was it, Homura thought she was going to hurt her.

The magical girl costume dissolved, changing back into her borrowed school uniform. It seemed to help Homura relax as there was now considerably less blood on her, and Sayaka was able to take a few steps closer before she backed up again.

"Homura- I'm sorry, I, it tried to  _kill you_!" she claimed in attempt to defend her actions. "It deserved it, it tried to kill you, Homura, I couldn't give it a quick end- I had to make it suffer." Her words were not enough justification to calm Homura's fears, but she tried. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to keep you safe from it."

She was able to get another step forward, and another, and soon her hands were on Homura. Both resting on her cheeks as she looked down at her, so happy that she was able to  _touch_  Homura again.

"Can you forgive me for upsetting you?" Sayaka asked, giving her most hopeful, pleading voice.

Homura looked down at the ground, unable to meet Sayaka's eyes. "I...is it always like this?" she asked, still not looking up at her. "I...I mean do you...are you always so...merciless? When fighting witches?" When Sayaka began stumbling for an answer of "Yes- no! Sometimes?" Homura sighed, "Sayaka...I..."

She stepped away from Sayaka, out of her arms, and away from her.

"Homura- wait, where are you going?"

She paused in her stride. "I'm...I'm going home- it's late and...I d-don't know, this was...this was a lot...I...I'll talk to you tomorrow..." And like Kyubey, she was soon gone after turning the corner.

Sayaka just stood there as time ticked on. But, with Homura no longer around, Sayaka felt her anger pool over.

"Damn it!" she shouted, transforming into her magical girl outfit once again. She'd fucked up, she  _fucked up_! She shouldn't have let Homura come, she should have known Homura wouldn't like seeing how Sayaka took care of that witch.

It wasn't like she treated  _every_  witch like that! That one was a special case, that one had been the one that tried to kill Homura the previous night!

She began running, in search of something - anything - to vent her anger on.

"They're just stupid witches! Why care about how bloody the fight gets? It's not like they deserve any mercy!" she yelled to herself, to the sky, and to no one at the same time. Her grip on the cutlass tightened as it formed in her hand, and her pace increased.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Homura hates her now.

Homura is scared of her now.

She's going to lose Homura.

"Damn it!"

Her mind was so internally focused on her own anger, on her own frustration, that she didn't see metal coming right for her until a chain hit her right in the head, knocking her on her back.

"Jeez, ya shoulda seen that coming a mile away."

Sitting up and rubbing her face, Sayaka watched as the chains retracted upon themselves, changing into a spear, no a lance - did it matter?- which soon had a red-haired girl perched upon it. Wait, she'd seen this girl before, hadn't she? Somewhere? It felt like she had. Whoever she was, it was obvious she was a magical girl as well. Great, could this night get any better?

"What do you want?" Sayaka spat, standing back up. She wasn't in the mood for whatever this girl wanted to do, and the sooner she left her alone the better.

The mystery girl began chewing on some kind of snack, pausing to swallow before answering. "Still as wound up now as you were then. What's got your panties in such a twist?" she asked, she mocked, smirking down at Sayaka. "I'm just here to give you an in-person warning. This is my territory now. I'm giving you a chance to get out of the city with your life."

Leave this city? This stranger wanted her to leave this city just because it apparently wasn't big enough for both, not that Sayaka really wanted to work near this girl whose greeting was a blow to the head. But leaving would mean dropping out of school, leaving her family, leaving  _Homura_.

Whether Homura and her had left on bad terms just now or not, Sayaka wasn't going to step back and leave her unprotected just because this self-important  _pig_  wanted the city!

Her eyes narrowed, and her cutlass was raised. No, this was just what she needed, she needed to vent her frustration out on something. What better than to hack this redhead up into pieces? Doubt anyone would find the body. After all, wasn't cutting someone else up a better way to vent than cutting up yourself?

"Oh? You wanna fight?" the other girl asked when she saw Sayaka take her stance. She stepped off her lance and onto the ground, prying the weapon up as she twirled it into her own stance. "You're gonna regret that choice, rookie."

* * *

Homura was glad her house hadn't been that far from where the labyrinth had lain. She made it home before too long and wound up leaning against the door before sliding to the floor.

"That was...Sayaka...?" she said, drawing her knees in close to her and resting her head on them. Regret was already overflowing in her, regret for what she said, for how she acted. She'd been scared of how violent Sayaka had been, how ruthless her attacks had been...it was clear Sayaka had been enjoying every cut she put on the witch, she was even  _laughing_! If Homura hadn't been so scared, she thought she would've thrown up. But Homura shouldn't have acted like that. She was still the Sayaka that she knew and loved, wasn't she?

Wrapping her arms around her head as she curled tighter upon herself, Homura let out a low noise of frustration and confusion.

She'd just been, it was a witch, Sayaka said so herself it didn't deserve mercy. After all, these monsters lured the innocent into their lairs and killed them. Who knew how many lives were lost to just that one; Homura's had almost been lost to it as well.

Sayaka had said...the witch  _had_  been the one that tried to get Homura yesterday, and that was why Sayaka had been so vicious.

"Just to defend me, or avenge me..." she said, relaxing slightly. It felt nice, now that she thought about it, that Sayaka would react so harshly to something that tried to kill Homura. She was just trying to keep Homura safe, even if the methods were shocking.

With an exhale, Homura made her decision. She would get used to this side of Sayaka, she just needed time to adjust. Sayaka had been right after all: they were awful creatures that deserved the pain they got for all the pain they caused to others. Monsters that had no place in the world, things that could only lash out at the good people in the world, why should they deserve mercy? She just hoped that Sayaka was still in enough control of herself to focus all that anger on nothing but witches and familiars.

Sitting up and petting Ganko, who had sneaked up on her when her brain was still settling down, Homura let out a sigh. "I'll...I'll apologize to her when I see her tomorrow. I...I don't want to end on b-bad terms with her...I don't want to lose her."

Losing Sayaka...it was one of Homura's biggest fears. Losing her best friend, her first love, just losing Sayaka...Homura couldn't imagine a life without her. She didn't know what she would do if they stopped being friends, especially over something like that.

She felt Ganko tense under her hand, and looked down at her in confusion as the kitten began hissing at the shadows.

"Ganko...?" Homura asked, as though the cat could tell her why she was angry.

Her answer came as Kyubey stepped out of the shadow behind the couch and made his way towards her, and after a few seconds of standing there hissing, Ganko darted off to hide like always.

"Kyubey, what are you doing here?" Homura asked, staring at him. Didn't he have things to do? If he was already finished with them than he should be with Sayaka, not here, right? Had something happened?

The white-furred cat-rabbit-squirrel took a few more hurried steps, a bit of urgency in his otherwise emotionless voice as he spoke, "Miki Sayaka's in trouble," and Homura could feel a sudden heavy and cold feeling overcome her. She hadn't even needed to ask before Kyubey began explaining what happened, "She's fighting another magical girl, one who's stronger. You've got to help her."

Homura had the door open and was running out without any other prompt, and Kyubey took off in front of her, leading her to where the two must have been.

But right now her head was full of questions. Another magical girl? Why would Sayaka and this other girl be fighting? Shouldn't they work together? It didn't make any sense and she asked Kyubey just as much through her panting.

"Magical girls can be territorial, and intruding on another's territory isn't well looked upon. This one came into Miki Sayaka's hunting grounds - the entire city - with the intent to take it as her own. Sayaka's only choices are to leave this city or to fight. Though it would be easier to just leave and find another territory, she seems far too attached to you specifically to risk leaving," he said, not breaking his stride as he cut through an alley.

Taking that all in, Homura almost stopped moving when he said how attached Sayaka was to her. It took a few quick shakes of her head to snap her back into focus. No, he didn't mean it in the way she would wish he did.

Already they had passed by where the labyrinth had been, and they showed no sign of slowing down.

Homura was starting to feel out of breath, but she kept moving despite her legs not wanting too. She wasn't in the physical shape needed to run as far as the two had, but she wasn't going to stop. She could hear the clang of metal on metal and the cries of anger and mockery. It was soft but she could hear it, they were getting closer.

A wave of nausea rushed through her, along with a sudden lightheaded feeling that made Homura almost stumble.

_Ba-dum..._

The noise was clearer now, one last turn and both Kyubey and Homura were standing in front of the battle. Though, it was less of a battle and more of a one-sided beating, and it was going as poorly for Sayaka as Homura feared.

She was being flung back and forth by the spear, broken into pieces connected by a chain. It looked as though any attack Sayaka tried was brushed off by the other girl who would then simply knock Sayaka into another wall.

Sayaka was covered in blood again, just like when she was fighting the witch, only this time it was her own. Her clothes were tattered from the numerous wounds inflicted on her, and the other magical girl didn't have a scratch on her. Kyubey hadn't been mistaken when he said Sayaka was in trouble; it was clear she stood no chance against this girl.

Wait...Homura knew this girl...she'd met her before, spoken with her before-

"Sakura-san?"

Kyouko's head quickly turned to look at her in surprise, Sayaka too when she heard Homura's voice. The battle seemed to stop with both weapons pressed against each other as they stared at Homura.

After a moment, recognition flared up in Kyouko's eyes. "What a surprise, wasn't expecting to run into you like this," she said, pulling back her spear and stepping away from Sayaka. "What? Are you a magical girl too? Kyubey only said there was one in this city, never mentioned contracting another girl after Blueberry here."

"She's not a magical girl, and she's not going to be!" Sayaka shouted, still clearly angry with how bad the battle had been for her, and quickly whirled on Homura. "What the Hell are you doing here?" she shouted, storming up to her while keeping herself between Kyouko and Homura. "We're in the middle of a fight- you could have gotten hurt jumping into the middle of it like that! Weren't you thinking at all?"

But Homura could only smile. Sayaka was okay, and that made Homura not care that she was being yelled at. "Kyubey said you were in danger, I came to try and help you," she explained and quickly hugged the taller girl. She had to apologize now, make things right, forget about Kyouko being there, forget about the battle the two had been waging a minute ago. Sayaka was okay, and Homura could have lost her had she not come. "I'm...I'm sorry I got upset with you earlier, I s-shouldn't have. I understand it now. You were just trying to keep everyone safe, I shouldn't be upset with how you do it."

Sayaka had stiffened under her hug, and there was hesitance before she hugged her back.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"I wasn't mad at you to begin with, I was just, I was surprised a-and confused."

She heard Sayaka make a choked noise of relief and hug her tighter, cape wrapping around Homura almost protectively.

From the sidelines, Kyouko snorted. "Jesus...get a room you two. I didn't come here to watch tween drama romance stuff," she muttered, though her words were ignored by both as Kyubey walked over to stand by her.

Homura was relieved, it had been far easier and quicker than she imagined to apologize to Sayaka. It was good that they could get over something that upset them both so quickly. She felt content in this hug, safe in Sayaka's arms.

"Now that you've gotten that off your chest," Kyouko spoke up again, "you gonna keep fighting or you gonna run?"

_Ba-dum..._

It was only then that her brain fully noticed how out of breath she still was. A quick wince followed as she felt an uncomfortable tightening in her chest. What was-

_Ba-dum..._

"Homura? Are you okay?" Sayaka asked, pulling away slightly to look at her worriedly.

Even Kyouko had taken a few steps towards her, either curious or concerned. "Yeah, what's your deal now?"

_Ba-dum, ba-dum..._

Homura took a sharp breath in as hot pain began flaring up in her arm, racing up her back and setting home in her jaw. Cold sweat began running down her skin as the pain in her chest began growing in intensity.

What was going on? Why was this happening? This shouldn't be happening! She was fixed, she was cured!

_Ba-dum! Ba-dum!_

Her knees buckled and Sayaka was now yelling at her, but her voice sounded like nothing but garbled nonsense. Homura couldn't even make out her facial details, it was all a blur of colors.

_Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum!_

Her senses were all locked onto the pain and nothing else. The world was going dark, her heart felt like it was tearing itself apart in her chest, the agony so unbearable. She couldn't see or hear Sayaka yelling at her, but she could feel wet drops hit her cheek. Was it raining? No, it wasn't, was someone crying? Her? Sayaka?

Why was this happening to her? Why this again? She was cured, she was supposed to be fixed.

_Why?_


	17. Crises Happening

_Sayaka's_  heart, meanwhile, was a drum within her chest, blood pulsing, and cold sweat was forming on her now skin as fear washed over her. Homura was limp in her arms, a dead weight against her that could easily be mistaken as dead if it was not for the soft pained whimpers and gasps. The struggle to  _breathe_.

She had no idea what happened, what was wrong with Homura, and her mind flashed to that moment on the sidewalk before Homura had been taken off to the hospital-

No, it wasn't that. It  _couldn't_  be that!

"Hey, what's...her deal?" Kyouko asked. Was that a tint of fear in her voice? No, Sayaka was just hearing things. Why should Kyouko care?

Her question was ignored as Sayaka scooped Homura up in her arms - she had forgotten just how  _light_  she was - and began walking fast away from her. She had to get Homura somewhere safe, somewhere she could figure out what was wrong and help her. Out here, where she was vulnerable, was not good, she had to- God damn it why was Kyouko following her?

"Go away," Sayaka hissed, speeding up her pace to a run, but Kyouko did the same, following a few steps behind her.

"I'm coming with," she stated, leaving no room to argue.

Sayaka wasn't going to bother with saying anything else at this point to her.

Instead, she turned the corner hoping that she would just stop, but it didn't happen. Kyouko remained right on her tail, following a few steps behind no matter how much faster Sayaka ran. "If it's a fight you want, we can do it another time!" Sayaka hissed, still walking forward, but holding Homura closer. Her breathing was getting fainter, but the pain she was in was written clearly on that sickly pale face. Kyouko was the least of her problems right now.

All that mattered was making sure Homura was okay.

"I'm not wanting a fight...now. I'm wanting to know what the Hell is wrong with Akemi," Kyouko said still following after, though Sayaka could hear her temper rising.

Why did she care what was wrong with Homura? It wasn't like she was her friend or anything...though, Homura had said her name, or last name, so maybe they did know each other- no, whether they knew each other or not was not important. This girl was not important. The only thing important here was Homura.

Not wanting to waste time arguing with her, or lose focus for that matter, Sayaka chose not to speak anymore and quickened her pace once more. Her end point was coming near, and she could see the building up ahead. Somewhere safe, somewhere Homura would be comfortable at.

"It's okay Homura, I'm taking you home," Sayaka said, hugging her tighter for a second before loosening it up before it could hurt her.

Just a few more steps and she was at the front door and, damn it, how was she supposed to open the door when trying to hold Homura? She didn't want to risk dropping her, but she didn't have a spare arm...great.

Sayaka didn't even turn her head to look at Kyouko. "I need you to do something for me, can you see if the door is unlocked?" she asked, stepping to the side so Kyouko could get to the doorknob. Hopefully Homura didn't lock it behind her when she ran out to find her.

Blinking in surprise at the request, Kyouko shrugged and sauntered up, trying the doorknob though only to shake her head. Damn, now she was going to have to...  _Sorry, Homura, it's this or I kick the door open._

"Her key, she keeps it in the left pocket of the skirt," Sayaka said, moving so Kyouko could reach it, and then shot her a glare, "you grab only the key, nothing else." Would Kyouko take this as an opportunity to do something to Homura? Take something from her? Sayaka didn't know, but she didn't want to take the chance.

At least Kyouko looked insulted at the implication, but she obediently stuck her hand inside of Homura's skirt pocket. "Damn you are bossy. I hope you're glad your girlfriend is dying so I'll cut you some slack." She was trying to use humor to lighten the situation, but that humor was not appreciated. Sayaka didn't even have it in her to tell her that Homura was not her girlfriend or to never joke about Homura dying. It wasn't important...now, anyway.

With the door unlocked and opened, Sayaka shouldered past Kyouko and hurried into the room. Ganko was soon on her heels with Kyouko following after shutting the door as Sayaka made her way to Homura's bedroom. Blankets and sheets were pulled back as Homura was placed on the bed, then pulled back over her.

With her no longer in Sayaka's arms, the blue-haired magical girl dropped to her knees beside the bed. "Come on, Homura. You're home now, you'll be okay." Was she saying that to Homura, or to assure herself? Sayaka didn't know, and as she pushed back bangs, damp with sweat, from Homura's face, Sayaka couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach. This was far too much like before, when she'd nearly lost Homura the last time...and there shouldn't even  _be_  a "this time."

Why was this happening?

"Any idea what's wrong with her?" Kyouko asked, taking a seat at the chair by Homura's desk, watching the two as she produced a box of Pocky from her pocket and took a stick between her teeth.

There was no sound between them after her question as she watched Sayaka stroke Homura's head and hair. Yes, she had an idea of what was wrong, but it didn't make any sense.

"I...Homura had a heart condition," Sayaka said. Why was she telling Kyouko this? Kyouko didn't matter, she didn't need to know this. But nonetheless, Sayaka found herself explaining it all as she took one of Homura's hands in her free one, maybe in some vague hope that somehow Kyouko knew anything useful. God, she could barely feel a pulse as she ran her thumb over the wrist. "A pretty bad one...she was in the hospital for a long time before coming to my school, and had been in it again for almost a month not too long ago because of a relapse."

There was a hum from the other side of the room as Kyouko took this in. "So she's having another relapse?" she asked, then narrowed her eyes in...accusation? Confusion? "Shouldn't you have called an ambulance then? I mean, it sounds like something she can't sleep off, why take her here?"

"Because she isn't supposed to have that condition anymore!"

When Sayaka yelled, Kyouko flinched, nearly dropping her box of Pocky before catching herself. "Whatcha mean? She got cured?"

"I..." Something was caught in Sayaka's throat and her hand tightened its grip on Homura's. But she quickly loosened it upon realizing, no, she had to be gentle with Homura, especially now. "My wish...Homura was going to die...she would have  _died_. I wished for her to be cured."

Yes, when she'd met Kyubey in that hospital, she'd wished for Homura to be okay. She had used her wish with the intention of letting Homura survive, so why was this happening? Why was Homura relapsing? This shouldn't be happening!

"Actually, that is not entirely true."

Sayaka felt her blood turn to both fire and ice as she heard that voice. Ganko was hissing now, perched protectively over Homura as Sayaka slowly turned her head to look at Kyubey perched in the window. If looks could kill, there would have been a massacre from the one Sayaka had pointed at the damn rat.

"You..."

She had let go of Homura, and with a flash of blue light, she had grabbed Kyubey by his ears and thrown him to the floor so hard he bounced a little before being trapped under the tip of her sword, trickles of red appearing in that white fur. She wanted so badly to impale him, to see him bleed more.

"This is all  _your_  fault! What did you do to Homura? You promised she would be cured, but she's not!"

"Whoaaa," Kyouko mumbled, whether in excitement or worry, standing up and taking a step to Sayaka. What did she want, was she afraid Sayaka would kill the bastard? It was all his fault Homura was like this!

Sayaka's head snapped to Kyouko, and the look she had must have been frightful if it had the rambunctious redhead backing away. "Stay out of this! This is between me and him!" she growled, her sword pressed down a little harder, drawing more blood.

But, that bastard didn't even feel the pain did he? His expression never changed, he never writhed in agony, he showed no signs that it hurt at all!

"I never lied, I granted you exactly what you wished for," he explained, and from the tone he used, he could have still been on the windowsill talking and not pinned down with the tip of a cutlass digging into him, and no one would know the difference.

Sayaka pushed down harder at hearing that. "Liar! No you didn't! I wished for Homura to be cured, damn it!" She was crying now, wasn't she...she wanted to look strong and scary, but this was overloading her.

"That may have been your intention, but that was not what you wished for."

Her grip on the blade began to loosen as he said that, what...what did that rat mean?

As he was no longer as tightly pinned down, Kyubey wiggled out from under the cutlass and sat up a foot away, ignoring the dark red spot on his chest as he licked his paw. "You wished to be able to make Akemi Homura better. You never said cure, you never said fix, you never said anything about permanence. You simply wished that Homura would be fine," he explained calmly, taking a pause to let that sink in. "I am not responsible for the outcome of a wish you worded wrong."

Sayaka could only stare at him when he had finished explaining. He was lying...right? He had to be, right? This was because he'd lied, he didn't keep up his end of the bargain, this couldn't be...it...couldn't...

"It's my fault...?"

There was no anger, no sorrow. Sayaka felt...empty.

This was because of her...Homura was in this pain, in this relapse because she hadn't  _specified_  her wish?

Anger came back at full force after she had finished processing it, and she didn't seethe and boil over; she just exploded. Her body acted on instinct, her sword lashed out in a smooth stroke, and Kyubey's head hit the wall as his body fell limp where it had sat along with the bottoms of his ears.

"Holy shit..." Kyouko hissed, which Sayaka ignored in her anger.

Almost without her noticing, hands grabbed onto her shoulders, trying to hold her back as Sayaka drove the cutlass into the motionless corpse. Should she have felt guilty for having just killed him? Perhaps, but she didn't feel an ounce of remorse. "This is  _your_  fault! You knew what I meant! You knew what I meant when I made my wish! You twisted it! You twisted it so that Homura would get hurt by it! You bastard! You bastard!"  _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Hot tears ran down her face, and she didn't care about the bloody mess she was making of Homura's bedroom as she stamped his corpse into an indistinct lump of meat. She would clean it up, she would not let Homura see a trace of it when she woke up. She was going to wake up. She had to wake up. She couldn't just leave Sayaka like that!

"I did nothing but grant your wish," Kyubey said. A second Kyubey, or perhaps a clone? Sayaka didn't know how he was standing there as she kept pounding his corpse. She didn't care either. She would have driven her cutlass into the second one if Kyouko hadn't been holding her back. She was so fixed on Kyubey she hadn't even noticed when Kyouko's hands stopped holding her back and were replaced by her chained spear encircling her. "As humans are fond of saying, be careful what you wish for. This is all on you."

His remark was answered with an angry scream as Sayaka struggled against Kyouko's hold, dragged back by the other girl. "I hate you!"

How was he so calm? How dare he be so calm!

Jumping from his perch, he walked over to the remains of his previous body, calmly eating them while Sayaka screamed at him. She should best quiet down, or else she may disturb the neighbors and draw attention to this apartment, it would not be wise to have police come. Not because of what they would do, but because with how Sayaka was right now, if they did show up, this could escalate from a noise complaint to a murder.

"Okay, I get it, but shit, calm down!" Kyouko yelled, holding tighter on her spear as she tried to keep her from getting loose. "That was a, rrgh, good show there but this isn't helping now!"

"Shut up! Stay out of this!" She was on the verge of impaling Kyouko with her blade too at this rate. Damn it, let her go so she can kill that heartless thing!

"There is a way to save her."

Seven words, those seven words had silenced everything.

Sayaka's struggling and screaming came to a halt, all attention snapped from Kyouko back onto Kyubey, who had finished devouring his former body and had merrily trotted over to eat his old head. Only taking a few moments to finish, he sat there by the blood stain, looking up at them with those unblinking red eyes.

"H-How..." Sayaka's voice had gone weak. There was a way to save Homura...was it going to make everything worse? Was it to contract with him again? How? She promised him her life in combat; now what did he want, her eternal soul?

Kyubey had begun licking his paw, possibly to get rid of some of the blood on it. "Your wish had been to make her better, so your magic is in tune with healing. So, isn't it obvious? Heal her with your magic," he observed, and when there was no response he let out sigh. "I honestly don't understand why you had to make everything so difficult. Wouldn't it have been obvious from the very start? Instead of lashing out at everything in a rage, you could have just used your magic to heal her. You are so illogical."

"How," Sayaka asked again, attempting to take a step forward before remembering Kyouko's hold on her, "how do I do that?" She'd never used her magic to heal anyone other than herself, and even that was something that happened without having to think about it much, how was she supposed to use it to heal Homura?

Kyubey shook his head. "It's not my magic, I don't know, you'll have to figure it out," he said, and with all he needed to say done and out there, he turned and left before Sayaka could attack or yell at him any more.

After a minute or two of staring at the spot he once sat and trying to puzzle out his advice, Sayaka snapped back to her senses began jerking against Kyouko.

"Let me go, damn it! Let me go!" was the snarled yell as she finally broke out of Kyouko's hold and rushed back to Homura's side, essentially collapsing at the bedside. She quickly checked her breathing and pulse. God, it was getting weaker, and there was a blue tint to her skin now.

Kyubey had said she could heal him, her magic allowed her to do that but...how? If her magic was stored in her soul gem...that was the best place she could think to start.

Changing back to school clothes, soul gem in hand, she held it out, hovering it over Homura's frail form and concentrating. Nothing. No blue light, no transparent magical runes over the body. Nothing at all. Damn it, it wasn't working.

"Hey- your soul gem," Kyouko began, the alarm in her voice crystal clear, but was silenced by a sharp "shut up" before she could finish.

Sayaka didn't need distractions, she needed to focus, she needed to save Homura. Fix her,  _fix her_!

Maybe...maybe focus on the heart! Yes, focus on one spot instead of all over, that had to work, right? It was the heart that was the problem, the heart that was killing her. If Sayaka healed that, then she should be okay.  _For how long though? No, don't think about that._  If this worked, Homura would be okay for now, and she could do it again when it wore off and Homura's condition came back.

Deep breath.

Breath in, breath out,  _focus_.

Her blood was racing. She needed to calm down. Shut out the hurricane of thoughts in her mind. Concentrate.

The blue gem came to hover over Homura's chest, over her heart. The glow gave off a warm heat in Sayaka's hand as she closed her eyes. Focus.

_What if this doesn't work, and it only makes it worse? No, it's going to work, Homura will get better, I'll make Homura better._

Stave off the doubts, focus. Ignore Kyouko who was hovering over her like a hawk, ignore everything but her magic and Homura. Deep breath, in, out. Focus on her magic, focus on the healing that she used so many times on herself. Focus on helping Homura, focus on Homura.

A brighter blue glow, and Sayaka opened her eyes to see the pale blue runes hovering in the space between her hand and Homura. It was working, it was working! Stay calm, keep focus. Heal the holes, heal the heart. Focus.

After perhaps a few seconds, or a few minutes, the runes dissipated and Sayaka nearly collapsed.

She hadn't realized how low on magic she had become after fighting a witch, then Kyouko, and now this. She was exhausted, as tired as can be, but still, she pushed herself up to press an ear against Homura's chest, feeling the heart.

_Ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum..._

Normal, rhythmic beats, no skips, no pauses, no quick bursts.

It had worked.

Heaving a sigh, Sayaka let her head stay there on Homura's chest, content to just lie there and listen to her heartbeat. Though Homura would likely remain asleep for a while longer, the relief Sayaka felt _knowing_  she would wake up was immeasurable.

"Well...good work," Kyouko said, watching Sayaka lie across Homura's sleeping form. It sounded as awkward as it felt.

With a tired groan, Sayaka pushed herself up enough off of Homura to look and glare at Kyouko. "What are you still doing here?" she asked curtly. The girl had no reason to still be here, she could go on her merry little way now, leave Sayaka and Homura alone.

Instead, Kyouko just dug into her pockets, searching for something. "You were friends with Mami and that Madoka kid, right?" she asked.

How did she know Madoka and Mami? At hearing their names, Sayaka narrowed her eyes, what did they even have to do with this? Why was she bringing  _them_  up? "I was Madoka's friend, not so much Mami's. Why?"

Having found what she was looking for, Kyouko pulled out a crumpled envelope from one of her pockets and held it out to Sayaka. "I know now ain't the best time, but I ran into Madoka back when you all came to Kazamino. She gave this to me, asked me to 'give this to Miki Sayaka if things went sour.'"

 _If what went sour?_  Sayaka's glare didn't lessen, but at least she took the envelope. "What? Were you planning on killing me and giving the letter to my corpse?" she spat, still rather salty about how badly their fight had been going. But she did raise a good question: if Kyouko had intended to give her this letter, why did she attack? Or was she still itching to finish their fight like Sayaka was? If so, it wouldn't be here or now.

Kyouko shrugged, not looking sorry at all. "Didn't actually know it was you I was supposed to give it to. Didn't even know your name 'til she called it out, thought you looked familiar, and then I was kinda wound up." When Sayaka looked unconvinced, Kyouko frowned a little. "Relax, I'd've remembered before I killed ya. Kinda been waiting to come here longer'n I've been waiting to be someone's delivery girl, but doesn't take a genius to put two and two together to realize you're who that was meant to go to."

Sayaka's hand tightened on the envelope and she glanced down at it, then back up at Kyouko. There was a mixture of emotions now flowing through her. "Why are you giving it to me?"

"'Cause she asked me to," Kyouko explained as though it was all that needed to be said, "I mean, it's the least I can do, right? As a bonus, I'll even give you another chance to think over what you wanna do now." After a flash of light, she was back in street clothes. She turned on her heels and followed it with an over-the-shoulder, "Be seein' ya."

She was gone after that, out the door before Sayaka could say anything else, though it would have likely only been a minute more before she was kicked out anyways.

Sayaka continued to stare down at the envelope in her hand. Her mind was whirling, and it was as though pieces of a puzzle were finally being put into place. Madoka had written this to Sayaka back when they were in Kazamino, and had given it to Kyouko, as though she knew that Kyouko would come to Mitakihara...it couldn't just be a coincidence that Kyouko also happened to be a magical girl, could it? That would have made it that Madoka wrote this a few days, maybe a week before she died, and Kyouko said she wrote it if things went bad for her.

As though she knew she was going to die...

But, that sounded like something Madoka would have done too, Sayaka reasoned. If she knew she wasn't going to make it through...whatever it was, she wouldn't want her friends or family to worry, and it wouldn't be odd that she wrote them a letter to try and ease their pain.

Even so, that wasn't comforting Sayaka right now.

"Madoka...just what were you doing?" Sayaka whispered, shaky hand opening the envelope and pulling out a paper. Pale pink, from Madoka's favorite notebook. There was even the tiny bunny head in the bottom left corner. The handwriting was accurate too. There was no mistaking it: Madoka had written this letter, Kyouko wasn't lying about that.

It was time to read what it said now. Sayaka had a feeling she was going to learn something, something she might not want to.

_Hey, Sayaka,_

"Hey, Madoka," Sayaka answered back to paper, the words coming out before she could stop them.

_If you're reading this, then I can't be with you anymore. I'm sorry, I didn't want that. As I write this, I'm praying that I will still be able to come to school, to just say 'good morning' to you. I want to be able to say 'I'm sorry' to you, too. I know I haven't been a great friend to you this past month. I knew how you felt and I know I was hurting you with my secrets, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

Sayaka had come to hold onto the letter with one hand, the other finding Homura's, fingers clasping around hers for support as she continued to read. The next few lines were simply apologizing for how she had behaved, explaining how she wished she could take it back.

"I wish you could have taken it all back too," Sayaka whispered, hand tightening around Homura's as she read onto the next bit.

_Sayaka, if you could ever make a wish and know it would be granted, what would you wish for?_

What would she wish for if she could make a wish? That question was...she'd already made hers and right now it left an awful taste in Sayaka's mouth as she thought of how Kyubey twisted it.

_I would wish to help people, and you already knew that didn't you? I've always been predictable like that, haven't I? Wanting to make as many people happy as I could._

A small chuckle tried to rise up before quickly being smothered. She wasn't wrong, Madoka's desire to make everyone happy, it was such a strong trait any who knew her knew that she would wish for something like that.

_So that's what I do now, I help people. They don't know it and it's dangerous, but I'm happy to do what I do if it makes others safe._

Sayaka's mind flashed to what Kyubey had said. Two previous magical girls. Madoka was talking about having a wish granted and she said she was doing something dangerous. Madoka, please just say you're doing volunteer work, please.

_There's a lot of bad things in this world, Mami and I have been fighting to get rid of all those bad things._

Madoka, please...

 _There's this_ really _bad one coming soon. Mami and I've been preparing for it, but, there's a chance we won't make it._

Madoka...

_I just want that, if I don't survive, I can save as many people as I can. I want you to live on, too. Be happy and keep going on with your life. You have Homura now, Hitomi too! You won't be alone, remember that._

_I'll miss being able to spend time with you and Hitomi. But when I'm fighting Walpurgisnacht, whether I survive or not, I'll just be happy that I'm helping to keep you safe!_

Sayaka lowered the letter still in her hands but no longer reading it. The rest was essentially just goodbyes, pointless, meaningless goodbyes she forgot as soon as she glanced at them.

God damn it, Madoka all this time had been fighting witches? That was why she'd spent so much time with Mami? Why did she never bother to tell her? Had Madoka just not trusted her with that knowledge? Think she would only get hurt?

Sayaka was a magical girl now too, same as Madoka had been, and she got here even without anyone telling her about it! She could have helped her! Madoka could have trusted her with that!

She could have survived if she had!

The emotions brewing inside Sayaka were blurring together into a storm. Hurt, confusion, anger were the most prominent as the letter shook in her hands. There were wet spots dotting the page now as the tears rolled down her face. She dared not sob, not break down. But with each question, each demand running through her head, it grew more difficult not to.

Throwing the paper down, she quickly twisted her body and collapsed against the bed, her head atop of Homura's chest as she clung to her sleeping friend. Her sobs muffled as her face was pressed into Homura.

Somehow, knowing how Madoka died made it hurt so much more than not knowing why.


	18. Dicere

It was ten o' clock in the morning. The air was crisp outside, the sky bright blue with few clouds roaming within, birds flew by chirping and tweeting. By all accounts it was a beautiful day outside and the kind of day that makes you want to get up and do things. Inside, the apartment was quiet, and there was little trace of what had happened in it last night. Sayaka had made sure to clean up all of Kyubey's blood before Homura had awoken, as tricky of a task that was; never would she have thought she would need to look up how to remove  _bloodstains_  from a carpet.

She had made sure not to tell Homura all of what had happened last night too. Not a word of what she did to Kyubey, or why Homura's heart had begun failing again.

"I used my magic to heal you," Sayaka had said simply when Homura questioned it. The way she said it, the way she looked, Homura could see the guilt she tried to cover up as clear as day. But couldn't understand for the life of her why Sayaka would feel guilty; it wasn't her fault after all.

Thinking about it, or rather trying not to think about it, Homura just sighed, scooping Ganko up into her arms as she padded along the hallways, the kitten purring as she was cradled.

It was only a little past ten and Homura was so bored. As amazing as it was that she could be bored after the night she had, there was nothing to do, and Sayaka wouldn't be around for another few hours; that is, if she didn't need to hunt a witch today. That would mean even more hours of nothing to do if her duty as a magical girl called.

"Ganko...why is it so boring?" Homura sighed, sitting down on the couch. There was nothing good on the TV to watch and nothing new to read. It felt as though the hospital boredom was back, but at least in the hospital she had nurses to talk with to help pass the time. If she could go to school today then that would solve the problem of boredom but sadly she couldn't go.

"Sayaka said to stay here until she got back, but..." She heaved a sigh and the kitten pawed at her face gently, jostling the glasses she was wearing today. It felt so long since she had actually worn them; she'd grown used to the contacts but she hadn't been able to order new ones yet, and as such was stuck with glasses until a new supply of contacts came in.

Still, Homura couldn't stay cooped up in the apartment all day. Before, being alone with nothing to do was normal, but in the last couple of months, she'd come to enjoy having a life. Besides the agonizing boredom, with nothing to keep her mind occupied, terrible thoughts would start filling it. She hated when that happened, and now that she knew the increased danger she would be in with the depressed state those thoughts could put her in, it wasn't something she wanted to go through again so soon.

"I'm sorry, Sayaka, but I need to do something," Homura declared, putting Ganko on the floor. She was told to stay in the apartment, but no, she was going out and going to do something. Sayaka wasn't her boss, and she was too bored to stay inside all day. She had this spur of  _energy_  and she had to burn it somehow. Staying inside doing nothing was leaving her twitchy, anxious and agitated. If Sayaka got upset, Homura would have to explain that she couldn't be babied like so just because of all that had happened. She wasn't as fragile as Sayaka seemed to think now.

Following her for a few steps, Ganko mewled curiously as Homura grabbed her house keys and, as though she were just breaking free of prison and taking her first step into freedom, flung the door open to greet the day with all this energy.

Only for it to smack one Sakura Kyouko flat in the face.

"Holy shit! What the Hell?" Kyouko yelled in both pain and surprise, stumbling back and grasping her nose tightly. She continued to curse some more as she tried to assess the damage to her face.

Homura for her part was more than a little concerned, and well into the territory of frantic, apologetic worry. "Oh! S-Sakura-san, I'm sorry, I-I'm so sorry, are you okay? D-Do you need ice?" she asked, trying to decide between stepping to Kyouko or running to grab some ice, and there was also a fear that Kyouko would lash out because of that blunder. Homura's hands were waving through the air crazily, and Kyouko would have found it funny and laughed if she weren't trying to force her nose back into place.

After a minute, enough time for the pain to cool down to a mild ache, Kyouko waved her off. "Nah, nah I'm good, relax," she assured her, her voice nasally as her hand still pinched her nose, thankfully nothing was broken. "Jesus did you put your weight into that door. What, were you in the middle of an escape or something?"

Homura felt her cheeks redden slightly and she looked away. "I...I was just...r-really happy to go outside," she mumbled lamely, but at least it earned a snigger from the girl she'd just nailed with a door. Stepping to the side, Homura gestured inside. "Would you like to come in?" She wasn't sure what else to do but invite Kyouko inside and hope that she wasn't going to make any more mistakes.

She didn't have to ask again as Kyouko sauntered into the house, glancing around as though seeing if everything was the same as last night, almost looking for something, to see if anything was amiss. Sayaka had said she had been in last night too after all, and it wasn't until after Homura had shut the door that she finally spoke again.

"Ya got a pretty nice little place here, small but cozy," Kyouko said, plopping down on the couch. Ganko sniffed her foot for a second before jumping up onto her lap, which earned a few pets from Kyouko. Apparently the kitten saw nothing wrong with the redhead and had quickly warmed up to her.

Homura sat down next to her, putting on a smile though part of her felt bad about letting Kyouko into her house. Sayaka didn't like this girl, and did this count as a betrayal of some kind to be friendly to her? They had been fighting last night, but Kyouko had been decent, if not strange, to Homura back in Kazamino.

Personally, Homura was hoping she could get Sayaka and Kyouko to work together, despite their fight, and this did present a good opportunity to try and make that happen. Kyouko was clearly more experienced, more skilled than Sayaka, and Kyubey had said two magical girls would be more efficient than one. It would up the survival rate of both girls.

And there was also the big roadblock of how Sayaka clearly didn't want Homura to make a contract.

"Would you like something to drink?" Homura asked tentatively. Maybe she could make some tea, or maybe a soda would be better. She did have a few cans in the fridge, and Kyouko looked the type who would prefer it over tea anyways.

Kyouko gave a shrug, still petting Ganko. "Sure, ya got any food too? Cause I'm starvin'!"

If Sayaka were here, Homura could just see her yelling at Kyouko for being "disrespectful" by how she acted as though already owning the place, but Homura saw nothing wrong with Kyouko's blunt honesty. She had no issue making something quick for her guest as she made her way to the kitchen. Hopefully Kyouko didn't take this as her chance to rob Homura blind while the girl was in the kitchen, but somehow, Homura knew that wasn't the type of person Kyouko was, or rather that wasn't what she was here for. With how she was handling herself against Sayaka, it wasn't like she had to use trickery to take anything she wanted from someone like Homura.

Still, what was Kyouko doing here? That question was gnawing on Homura's mind.

After grabbing a grape soda and making a quick ham sandwich, Homura returned to the living room to see that she was right in not expecting Kyouko to rob her while she was gone. Kyouko hadn't even moved much other than to sprawl across the couch, playing with Ganko who was purring and sitting on her chest.

It was a cute sight.

Homura couldn't hold in the light giggle which was easily heard by Kyouko who jumped, head jerking to look at her in surprise and giving a soft swear followed by how Homura "shouldn't sneak up on people like a ninja."

"Sorry," Homura apologized, placing the drink and sandwich on the coffee table as Kyouko sat back up while Ganko readjusted herself onto her lap. "Ganko really has taken a liking to you I see," she said, reaching over to lightly pet her kitten on the head, and the purring grew louder at the added attention.

"I've always gotten along fine with cats, though I'm more of a dog person to be honest," Kyouko said, stuffing most of the sandwich into her mouth in one bite as though she hadn't eaten in days, though for all Homura knew, that might very well be the case, especially when she barely had to chew. "Ya know, I'm surprised you're not at school. Today's a school day ain't it? You don't look like a skipper."

"Sayaka suggested I stay at home today to rest, because of...b-because of what happened yesterday," she explained, hand coming to rest on her chest over her heart. Sayaka had less suggested and more demanded. It had taken all Homura had just to make  _Sayaka_  go to school today.

There was a snort of laughter from Kyouko as she opened the can of pop which sizzled for a few seconds. "That girl really likes you, doesn't she? Never seen someone quite so protective just of a friend, and people generally aren't  _that_  obsessive unless they got a thing for you."

Even if Kyouko were teasing, maybe even mocking, it earned a small smile from Homura as she nodded her head. But the smile slipped away quickly as she thought more about it. Sayaka had always looked out for her, but she had changed...not just since they had met, but the differences between one day and the next could be seen now. Sayaka was  _too_  protective, and part of Homura was scared of that.

"So, any idea of why you had that attack yesterday?" Kyouko asked, watching Homura from the corner of her eye as she gulped down the pop. The look she had, though trying to hide it, did not settle well with Homura. It was a  _knowing_  look.

"Actually," the girl in question began, glancing down, "I don't. Sayaka said that, well, I wasn't as 'cured' as everyone thought. She used her magic to fix me, but, I don't really get why I'm having heart problems again." The doctors should have noticed it, with how much intensive searching they did for something wrong with her after her miraculous recovery, they  _should_  have noticed if she weren't as fixed as they all thought. To be honest, Homura was starting to have some ideas of her own behind her recovery after all she had learned recently, and she was becoming suspicious of the "miracle" that saved her.

But as she gave her answer, she heard Kyouko mutter "of course," which earned a questioning look from her. "Braaap...nothing, nothing," was the quick, if rude, half-belch response as Kyouko began taking bites of the sandwich as though to distract the other girl and to keep her mouth occupied, causing the room to fall into a silence.

After Kyouko took a few more bites, and slipped a few tiny pieces of ham to Ganko, Homura decided to ask the million-dollar question.

"Sakura-san, what are you doing here?"

"Call me Kyouko, no need to be so formal," the redhead shrugged, taking a few more gulps of the soda.

Nodding, with brows pressing together in mild frustration, Homura tried again. "Alright,  _Kyouko_ , what are you doing here? I don't think it's for food and to play with a cat."

"Wanted to see how you were doing, ya know, considering last night and all that," Kyouko responded easily, almost too easily.

While Homura didn't think she was lying, not completely at least, Kyouko didn't come across as the kind of person who  _cared_  enough about the health of someone she barely knew to come and visit. Though Homura liked to think they were on the right path to becoming friends, the fact remained that they weren't friends, and of course there was the issue of what happened between Kyouko and Sayaka last night before her heart attack. With how little they actually knew of each other, it wasn't enough between them to garner Kyouko to care much about her. That meant there was more to this visit than just a checkup.

Homura narrowed her eyes at the redhead to show her disbelief. "I don't think that's the only reason."

The easygoing and self-confident grin Kyouko had been wearing up until now began to fall, though she tried to hide it by stuffing the sandwich into her face again. After a few seconds, she began speaking, "I came here 'cause I wanted to talk to you about Blueberry."

"Sayaka."

"Whatever," Kyouko said, waving her off, though there was a hint of uneasiness in her tone that she tried to hide.

"It's  _not_  'whatever.' If you're going to talk to me about my friend, you can call her by her name," Homura insisted, and Kyouko mumbled a 'fine, fine' after.

This wasn't something she was used to doing, and even if it was just showing a little concern for another, Kyouko was used to only worrying about herself and only herself, not some newbie who was on her turf. Under any other circumstances this would have been brushed off and ignored; it wasn't her problem after all, and she  _tried_  to brush this off too. But whenever she tried, she could feel eyes of molten gold frowning at her. "Something about her isn't- her soul gem was-...I don't think she can handle this. Being a magical girl, the mental, the  _emotional_  strain and all that might be too much for her," though Kyouko knew there was plenty of examples she could give to back up that vague statement.

Most girls weren't up to the challenge, but something about Sayaka...Kyouko could feel deep in herself that this path was a terrible one for her to walk.

Homura was quiet for a moment before nodding her head in understanding, her mind flashing to the witch she had watched Sayaka kill, the bloodlust she had seen. "I think you might be right," she said, voice going soft. It felt terrible to admit it, to admit that her friend might not be strong enough to handle this. Homura had only been given a glimpse into this world of magic, but even as small as it may have been, she could understand how terrible it was to be in. It had already begun changing Sayaka.

Fighting witches, and also having to fight other magical girls just for one city...

They didn't  _have_  to fight, did they?

"Mitakihara City is large...a lot larger than Kazamino," Homura began, taking the subject off of Sayaka, earning a hum of agreement from Kyouko, "There are lots of witches here, or there will be, right?" Another noise of confirmation from the girl beside her and Homura glanced up at the white ceiling in thought.

Sayaka couldn't handle this on her own, not forever, and not with Kyouko- more experienced, more  _powerful-_ as an enemy. She also won't let Homura contract, something the girl didn't know how to feel about yet, having too many mixed feelings over becoming a magical girl herself. But, more importantly, Sayaka needed someone she could rely on in the heat of a battle, to help her in her fights, to ensure that she would make it home when the hunt was over.

"Saku- Kyouko...can I ask you to do something for me?" Homura began, watching from the corner of her eye as Kyouko placed the empty plate on the coffee table and looked at her. "I'll do whatever it takes to pay you back, if it's legal I mean. I have the money, and it's- it's really important that you would do this for me. But, but can you train Sayaka?"

Kyouko stared at her, eyes wide in surprise before she managed to start talking again, "That is, you want me to train Blueberry?" she asked, still clearly surprised by the request, ignoring the mild glare Homura gave at the nickname, "I'm not, well, I'm not a teacher, doubt I'd be a good one to her." She didn't particularly work well with others, and would no doubt grow too frustrated with Sayaka if she taught her. They already had a rather hostile relationship after all. Besides, she didn't have as soft a touch as a certain other girl she once knew: her methods were rough and could very well kill the girl.

"I'm willing to pay you to do this, whatever you want," Homura pressed. Her voice had lost its worried and weak tone to it, determination instead taking hold.

Kyouko had to look away from her as she mulled over it. She could survive fine on her own, but still...money to buy food and better places to stay, as well as to spend at the arcade. It did sound like a pretty sweet deal, and it wasn't that hard. Just give the girl a few pointers, right? While she didn't like sharing the city, Kyouko could certainly use the money this girl was offering; it could help her get a few nights at someplace other than a crappy rundown motel...when she could afford a night there and not just break into somewhere. But she didn't exactly like working with others, let alone people like Sayaka. The way the girl had acted last night...Kyouko wasn't against letting go of control, but there was something wrong with that girl.

A flash of gold ran across her mind, bittersweet memories of her last time in the city when she'd last worked with someone. A fresher image came soon after: pink and gold danced along the front of her mind, then news of two middle school girls found dead after a terrible storm. When the words "no" ran through her mind, she could  _feel_  golden eyes on her burning with quiet, unyielding disapproval. Guilt began its awful gnawing within her, and for the second time that day, she was going to do something she rarely, if ever, decided to do.

Her hand held out to Homura, face hardening to hide whatever emotions may be hidden in red eyes.

"You've got yourself a deal."

* * *

Sayaka had been anxious all day, and was also regretting her decision to make Homura stay at home alone. Sure, she had wanted Homura to rest, considering the events of last night, but now all she could do was think. What she thought about weren't exactly pretty scenarios. They all were "what ifs." What if Homura's heart failed again while she was at school? Sayaka couldn't heal her when she didn't know and was so far away. What if Kyubey came to her and explained the truth about everything? Homura would hate her for sure! That was something Sayaka couldn't handle.

She did her best to try and focus though; she had to take notes, and good notes too, for Homura. Couldn't slack off when she'd promised to get Homura's work for her no matter how worried she was over the girl's safety.

To be honest, Sayaka still felt horrible about last night and all that had occurred. It hadn't been until some time after everything had happened before realizing what she did to Kyubey sank in and the horror and disgust filled her body that made her absolutely sick to her stomach, though she still didn't know who it was pointed at, Kyubey or herself. Sayaka also still found it hard to digest what she learned about Mami and Madoka, that there had been more going on between the two than she realized and it made her feel all the more guilty over how she treated them when she last saw them, and realizing she had screwed up her  _own_  wish wasn't making her feel any better.

Then there was Kyouko roaming the streets, stalking her for all she knew, and Sayaka didn't know what she was going to do with her. She still felt her blood boil in anger and frustration at the girl, wanting to settle the score.

Needless to say, all these things were creating a mess of feelings inside of her, and all these mixed yet negative feelings didn't help make the clock go by faster. She had the temptation to just run and skip school every time she went to her next class, but she resisted it. An occasional glance at her ring, and the the darker tone the blue had taken was just faintly acknowledged.

Sayaka was on the verge or ripping out her own hair with how anxious she was by the time classes were done. When the last bell finally rang, Sayaka  _would_  have been running to Homura, if not for being asked to go to the roof that day. If anyone else had asked her to make that trip, she would have said no, no to anyone but him.

So here she was, on the roof standing across from Kyosuke. Surprisingly, Hitomi wasn't around and it made her wonder if Hitomi even  _knew_  that Kyosuke had called her up there. She wondered more why Kyosuke had asked her to meet him up there in the first place. He had caught her as she made her way back to the classroom after lunch, asking to speak to her, saying it was important, but he never gave any indication of what it would be about and Sayaka couldn't very well turn his request down.

There had been many times that Sayaka had fantasized about this moment, to be called to the roof by Kyosuke, the two of them alone. So far it was playing out just like she had always dreamed, all that was left was, well, a confession and a fiery kiss to seal their love...both of which had already happened between him and someone else. Sayaka was well aware that it wasn't going to happen. Kyosuke was dating Hitomi, and if he even thought of cheating on- no, friend or no, crush or no, he was going to have a few words with Sayaka's fist.

"I hope you're not calling me up here to confess," Sayaka joked, following as Kyosuke hobbled on his crutches to the bench they always sat at for lunch, an amused grin on her face. Though she wasn't feeling entirely amused inside, and her fingers tapped impatiently on her hips. "You've got Hitomi after all. She ought to be more than enough."

He cracked a smile at her joke, shaking his head no. "Don't worry, that's not why I asked you to come here. You're great and all, but I'm more than happy with Shizuki-san. You're right, no need to find someone else when I've already got her," he assured her before falling into an awkward silence. "Er, I'm, sorry Sayaka," he said quickly, ducking his head as though he just now realized that bringing that drama up again could hit a sore spot on his friend.

But Sayaka, being a good sport, waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm over it." She was  _getting_  over it; a part of her still yearned for Kyosuke, a part was still in love with him. So was she still bitter whenever Kyosuke or Hitomi went on about each other in front of her and talked about how happy they were together? Yes, yes she was still quite bitter about the whole thing. But it didn't hurt as much as before, it didn't hurt  _nearly_  as much as before, and she was slowly starting to be  _happy_  for them.

He gave her a small nod and silence took over again. Kyosuke occasionally opened his mouth as though he were about to speak but then closed it quickly, rethinking his words. He took his time, likely trying to think of what to say, how to say it; it was either an important subject, a volatile one, or both. Sayaka tried to be patient as he thought, but her fingers continued to dance at the side of her leg from thinking of what she could be doing. She should be back with Homura by now, making sure she was okay. But she couldn't be rude and just ditch Kyosuke when he wanted to talk to her.

"How do you feel about Akemi-san?"

Sayaka turned to look at him, eyes blinking in confusion. "Eh? What do you mean?" she asked, and really, what did he mean? How did she feel about Homura? It was obvious she cared for the girl, Homura was her best friend after all! Was that even something that he needed to ask? Because how she felt now was that she should be with Homura instead of answering such a simple question.

He didn't look at her, instead looking up at the sky as he went into detail. "I mean, how do you feel about her? What do you see her as?" he asked once again, turning to look at her after he said that.

Sayaka didn't have time for this; he knew how she felt. "She's my best friend, of course I care about her."  _More than I can explain._  She cared about Homura so much her heart hurt, so much that Homura was always on her mind. She was constantly sick with worry when she wasn't around her. "Why are you asking me?"

Again, Kyosuke cracked a smile, though it seemed disappointed, the "if I don't laugh, I'll cry" kind of smile. "You see her as just a friend? That's all?" It was clearly not the answer he was expecting, or rather the answer he was wanting to hear. "I was asking because, well I was curious. I think we all are, really, and someone needed to ask you."

All? What did he mean by that? Who else was he talking about? It felt like her friend was making less and less sense.

"Of course I do. What, am I not supposed to?"

"Nothing like that," he said, shaking his head and looking up at the sky again. It was clear he wasn't happy with her answer and Sayaka couldn't understand why. What did it matter to him anyways? "You're...you're so difficult when it comes to these things, aren't you? You get so scared to accept how you feel, and even more difficult in telling others about it," he said with a sigh.

Sayaka could, well, she could understand what he was meaning, and her mind was thinking back to how she lost Kyosuke to Hitomi because she couldn't confess. But, why was he applying that here, to Homura of all people? Now Sayaka was getting annoyed as well as confused. "What are you getting at?"she demanded with a glare. If he had something to say, then he needed to spill.

But Kyosuke was already getting up, balancing himself on his crutches, muttering about how he had to go, something about a meeting with Hitomi, and then he spoke louder, this time directed to Sayaka, "There've been a lot of bad things happening around here lately, and I thought I saw a chance to stop one of them from happening again, but I hope I was just worrying about nothing. I just wanted to know how you felt about Akemi-san, or at least how much you were willing to admit. You really need to work on being honest with yourself, especially when everyone else can see the truth you're trying so hard not to." He turned to make his way out before pausing. "Oh, I almost forgot. A lot of the boys in class have a crush on her, you know. It won't be long before they start leaving her letters and confessing. But, since you just see her as a friend, I guess it won't be that big of an issue for you."

With that, he made his slow exit, leaving Sayaka to think about what just happened.

The way he said that, it felt as though he was teasing her,  _challenging_  her, telling her to figure out how she felt before it was too late. It was likely just what he was doing, too, telling her to start moving forward or get left behind.

Still...

People were interested in Homura- well, why wouldn't they be? She was beautiful, kind, and wonderful in every way, anyone would fall in love with her. But...if she...if she returned how any of them felt, accepted any of their feelings...if she started  _dating_  any of them, Sayaka would lose her.

Why did the idea of losing Homura...not even to death, but to anyone else...hurt so much?


	19. Alium Diem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No excuses for how late this took, this chapter just took a long time to finish. Sorry bout that.  
> Anyways hope you enjoy.

It was well into nighttime when Sayaka had begun her nightly hunt later that day. Her parents would be thinking she was sound asleep, and hopefully not enter her room to check on her. Thankfully it was a quick hunt that night, no witches were out and about, she liked to think it was because they were too scared because she was on the prowl. The only thing she had found was a lone familiar, which was a good thing for multiple reasons in Sayaka's book; a quick night and an easy kill were among them.

Well, it would have been an easy kill if a certain cape hadn't snagged onto a part of a building in the tight alleyway, leaving Sayaka stuck and struggling as the familiar ran off.

"Damn it! Let. Me. Go!" Sayaka yelled, trying to tug her cape free. Just what had she caught it on to get such a tight death grip? This was ridiculous and embarrassing; she was supposed to be a warrior and here she was, trapped because her cape got caught on a building, like a parody of what heroes are supposed to be. Pitiful and stupid!

After few more hard tugs and Sayaka had hit the ground face-first, her now freed cape falling over her head and covering her face as she growled in annoyance. Just her luck. There was no point going after the familiar anymore now either; it would have been long gone and Sayaka wasn't in any mood for a hunt without reward now. What a waste of time and energy this had turned out to be. She wondered, maybe if she just stayed down with her cape hiding her vision, she could pretend she was somewhere else and forget about this for a second.

A snort of laughter echoed in the narrow space and Sayaka threw her cape off from over her head to glare at the redhead staring right down at her.

"That was just hilarious," Kyouko said, a wide and fully amused grin upon her face, not even trying to cover her laughter at Sayaka. "Forget about witches and familiars, your greatest enemies are fire escapes."

As if Sayaka's mood hadn't been bad enough, "What do you want?" she demanded, pushing herself to her feet, her glare never easing up even if it had no effect on the other. She really didn't want to deal with Kyouko today. But if she had to, she would, and she would do her damned best to leave Kyouko black and blue by the end.

For her part, as usual, Kyouko didn't seem at all worried about Sayaka's hostility as her amused smile never dropped. "I'm here out of goodwill, Blueberry," she assured her, though the expression seemed to say otherwise. It was that of someone who just played a prank and was watching the chaos unfold before them. "I figured that you're just bad enough to need someone to train you on how to actually do your job, and who better than someone as good at the magical girl business as me?"

Oh now that was just uncalled for, Sayaka was doing a damn good job at this whole witch hunting business for someone who jumped into it without even knowing what she was getting into, at least she thought she was. Now her mood dropped even lower as Kyouko continued to demean her abilities.

"Yeah? Well I bet I'm doing a Hell of a better job at it then _you_ were when you started out!" she snapped, getting up and starting to walk away, or rather stomp away. No, she wasn't going to give Kyouko the satisfaction of sticking around and arguing even if she oh so wanted to lash out at her for that comment. She had to at least _try_ to be better than her.

The smirk never fell. Instead Kyouko began following after her, clearly enjoying the reactions she got from Sayaka. "Well, maybe you are, maybe you ain't. But I sure ain't 'just starting out,' I've been in this business a longer time than most, and fighting you is far too easy to try and enjoy."

Sayaka had to grit her teeth in frustration. "What, is that why you're 'offering' to train me? So you can actually get entertainment in our fights?"

"Well, duh," Kyouko said with a nonchalant shrug, still just a few steps behind Sayaka. "What's the point in fighting another magical girl if there isn't even a challenge? It's boring, no fun at all, and when I fight I wanna at least have to _try_. Makes it more exciting, you know? Besides, can't you see how this'll be a win for us both?"

Their pace never slowed down, not even as Sayaka's magical girl outfit dissolved back into her casual clothes.

"How is this a 'win' for us _both_?" she questioned, still walking with the intent on getting home quickly. "Sounds more like a win for you, and I still don't get why you're even offering something this stupid."

The redhead stuck her tongue out at her as she transformed back to her jacket and shorts, fishing a sucker out from her pocket. "You're the stupid one for not seeing the obvious benefits you get out of this," and popped the sucker right into her open mouth, her speech not even slurred, "you actually learn how to fight, increasing your own chances against the stronger witches. You get to fight me and let out some of that built-up Hulk Rage in you...and you gotta do something about that, going ballistic doesn't really save your ass as much as they act like it does on TV... _and_ you get to spend time with your girlfriend instead of being kicked out of Mitakihara."

 _This_ again, calling Homura her girlfriend.

This time, without the anxiety and fear coursing through her, Sayaka couldn't stop her face from becoming dusted with pink.

"S-She's not my- we're not- she's just my friend, okay?" Sayaka sputtered, having nearly stumbled in her strides. What was with everyone thinking that she and Homura were dating? They were just very good friends! Not that Sayaka would be unhappy with Homura as her girlfriend, Homura was a great person and quite good looking - anyone who dated her should be grateful for it! - but that didn't mean they were dating!

As though she was trying to escape, and maybe that was exactly what she was trying to do, Sayaka picked her speed up to some point between walking and jogging.

She could hear Kyouko's not-so-hidden laughter behind her. "Okay then, you can spend time with your...whatever you call each other - honey, babe, sweetheart? - instead of being booted out of the city." Sayaka didn't need to look behind her to see the wide grin stretched across Kyouko's face.

Her own face was now burning, and she was too scared to turn to look at the redhead lest she see the blush. "We're not dating!" she yelled a little louder than she should have, but it didn't seem to change Kyouko's opinion at all.

Instead, she had a piece of candy tossed her way and more laughter at her expense.

"Whatever, lovebird. We can start training Saturday night, that oughta give you enough time to think the offer over," Kyouko said, already walking away, hands stuffed in her pockets. "Just keep your night open. I'll find you when it's time to start." From the way she talked and the way she left, it was clear she was certain of what Sayaka would choose.

If so, that would make one of them.

With a sigh, Sayaka pocketed the piece of candy and set to work trying to sneak back into her room.

It wasn't too hard, but she did topple over the window ledge. It was a good thing the resulting thud wasn't too loud; the last thing she wanted was her parents to come up wondering what was going on.

Groaning and sighing, Sayaka pushed herself back up to stand and walked the few steps needed to collapse onto her bed in an exhausted mess. For some reason, Sayaka couldn't put her finger on it, she'd felt so drained the past few days, mentally and emotionally speaking. She felt an unhappiness, a darkness gnawing at her heart from within. It must have been the stress she'd felt as of late. After everything that had happened, and in all honesty, who wouldn't have been more than a little stressed?

As of lately it felt as though the whole world was against her, and the only reasonable way to react to such a thing was to lash back against it. Witches weren't the only vile things in this world after all; the humans who inhabited it could be just as awful.

The only thing worth keeping safe in this world was Homura.

One eye cracked open as she came to a realization that surprised her enough to get her thinking, even if she was too tired to think very hard. Had she always thought like this? Such a negative, dark outlook? Sayaka wanted to say no, but she couldn't remember. She must have been happy when it had been her, Madoka and Hitomi. But now just the mention of Madoka's name was a bullet to her heart, and thinking of Hitomi still left a bitter taste in her mouth she thought she'd gotten over.

The only one who hadn't hurt her was Homura.

Homura, Homura, Homura. Sayaka wasn't going to deny that it was a beautiful name, and the face it belonged to even more so. Just thinking of her dear friend left such a warm fluttering feeling inside Sayaka's chest. Like a light to shine upon the darkness within her, a shelter from her own storm.

Her phone buzzed so the girl lazily drew it from her pocket, and one glance at the text had Sayaka give a soft smile. "Speak of the devil and He shall come," as the saying goes.

_Sayaka, how are you feeling tonight? How was the witch hunt, are you okay?_

She was worried about how Sayaka was doing, probably because Sayaka hadn't really spoken to her since she went out for her hunt. It wasn't anything major but just the small sign that she cared had Sayaka's smile grow. Rolling over on her bed so she was on her stomach with the phone held out in front of her, she began typing her reply.

_I'm good! Thnx for asking! Hunt was a bust, got nothing. Pretty boring actually tbh. HRU?_

It was probably for the best that she not mention Kyouko.

She didn't expect an immediate response, Homura was probably finishing up her homework after all, studying late into the night to catch up like the good girl she was. But she continued to lay there, staring at her phone as she waited in anticipation. Eyes blinking a few times against the bright glow of the screen in her dark room as it shined on her face. But sure enough, after a couple of minutes, her phone buzzed in her hands.

_Good to hear, I'm okay. Sorry about the hunt, but I'm glad your safe at least!_

She was happy Sayaka was okay, and the warm feeling in her chest began to intensify. Of course Homura cared about her safety, they were friends after all.

Sayaka was working on her reply to the message when her phone gave the telltale buzz of a new message from Homura once again. Deleting what she had originally been about to write, asking how Homura was doing with homework, she read the new text, and another one followed up shortly after.

_I was thinking, tomorrow night maybe we could go see a movie?_

_Feels like it's been a while since we did something nice other than window shop or hang out at the mall._

A movie? Blinking, Sayaka pulled up her phone's web browser and quickly finding the site she scrolled through the lists of films that were playing. Usually the theater never played two of the same genre, and always of different ratings so that there would be at least one thing that someone would want to see, and sure enough it was the case for this round of movies as well. There was a generic slasher film, a comedic drama, and a historical reenactment. Jotting down their basic information to her memory, Sayaka quickly texted the list to Homura.

_Any of them you want to see?_

As she waited for a reply, Sayaka began scrolling through the show times for each one. Doubtful that Homura would choose the horror film, though the idea of her grabbing onto Sayaka in fear during the more violent scenes was one she wouldn't mind playing out...no, no, she had to mind Homura's heart. The adrenaline couldn't be good for it, right? The historical one sounded boring to her, she got enough history in school forced into her skull and Sayaka didn't really want to learn more in movies. That just left the dramedy out of the three, and it sounded at least okay from the description.

One thing was certain: Sayaka's mood had risen considerably now that she was talking to Homura again. She was still so thankful that their friendship hadn't ended in that labyrinth and that they could still text like this, still be friends, still be in each other's lives despite all that had happened.

Sayaka was snapped out of her thoughts as her phone vibrated, and her attention was instantly on the reply.

_I think the second one would be best, I'm not good with horror movies and the historical one would bore you._

_What time do you want to go?_

She quickly recalled the show times and ran ideas through her head before typing. They couldn't go to the later shows, though Sayaka would be more than happy to skip a night hunting - Kyouko could have that night to herself - but they still had school the next day. Doubtful her mother or father would let her go out too late to watch a movie, not that they knew she was out much later most nights. So something earlier yet still sometime after class. One of its scheduled slots was around dinner time, so maybe they could head out then, and Sayaka quickly typed that suggestion to Homura.

The response was quicker than Sayaka had expected but not unwanted.

_That sounds good, we can meet up after school and just find something to do until the movie then. Does that sound good?_

Sounded like a great idea, essentially the entire day with Homura tomorrow. Those were the days that Sayaka loved, when she had the raven-haired girl all to herself for the day.

With a smile, she gave her happy response.

_Sounds great! Tomorrows going to be a blast!_

And it would be. This was something that Sayaka needed, she realized: a day of fun with the one she cared for most. No stress, no frustration, no responsibilities. Just hanging out with Homura, just like old times before anything had happened to them.

The two sent a few more texts, they would talk more about their plans at class tomorrow, and soon they said their good nights to each other. With phone still cradled in hand, Sayaka drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face, eager and excited for the joys tomorrow would bring her.

* * *

The next day, class was going about nicely. The pacing seemed to go quite fast compared to the previous day, something that Sayaka was more than thankful for: no anxiety and no distractions now that Homura was there with her and within reach. The protective side of her was happy because if there was danger, she was right there to keep Homura safe, and the dependent side knew that having her near her was all she needed to keep going.

She was in a rather good mood the entire day, an honestly good mood, with no fake smiles or hidden bitterness. To make it even better, confirming face to face with Homura over their plans for the movies later that day helped give it a boost. Not even the idea of Kyouko roaming the streets or even their confrontation the night prior was enough to bring her spirits down.

Throughout the class periods, Sayaka kept glancing at Homura, doing her best not to attract the teachers' attention. As expected she was taking notes diligently and focusing on the teacher, though Sayaka could tell whenever they hit something that she didn't understand. She could see Homura's eyebrows scrunch up in frustration and see the lost look she had on the more confusing bits. If Sayaka were to be honest, she would admit that the expressions Homura was making were actually rather cute.

Sadly she couldn't just spend the entire class time watching Homura; she had to return her attention to the teachers at the front of the room to avoid trouble finding her.

Thankfully the day was progressing rather quickly; the jolly mood Sayaka was in was possibly helping to make time move by faster. It had felt like only a short while, but before Sayaka knew it she and Homura were on their way to the usual meeting spot to have lunch. Each held their lunch in their hand as they walked down the halls. The school corridors were oddly full today, causing the two to press closer than usual as they walked and for a moment, Sayaka considered reaching out and grabbing Homura's hand, but as her own moved out to do so she thought better of it and brought it back to her side.

"Hall is kind of more crowded today, isn't it?" Homura said as they pushed past another group of students, quickly mumbling an apology to them.

Sayaka hummed in agreement, trying to peer over the sea of students to no avail. Something must have been going on, or perhaps a few classes got out earlier, she supposed. But it didn't matter, this crowd just meant a little more effort to the roof, but once they hit the stairs it was a rather smooth journey the rest of the way as they broke from the packed halls.

Surprisingly, Sayaka and Homura were first to the roof this time, neither Hitomi nor Kyosuke having made it yet. It was rare, but Sayaka felt a sense of minor victory as she sat down in her usual seat, as though getting to the roof first had been a race, though chances were with how the halls were, the other two were just slowed down due to the crutches Kyosuke was on.

Quiet as a mouse, Homura took a seat next to her, placing her lunch box onto her lap, though not opening it yet as she waited for the other two to arrive.

"We still set for the movie today?" Sayaka asked as she leaned back against the wall, glancing up at the sky. "I'm pretty excited about this, I did a little reading of the reviews, the spoiler-free ones mind you, and it's been getting some good ratings."

"Oh?" Homura returned, tilting her head curiously. "I didn't check out the movie at all so I don't really know what it's about, but do you really think it's going to be a good one?"

Sayaka nodded, stretching her arms over her head. "Well, with so many people saying good things about it, unless all the reviewers have poor taste in movies, then the chances are that it's going to be a good one," she explained, which earned an understanding nod from the girl beside her. Smiling, Sayaka glanced up at the sky once more and a topic that had been nagging at her from the back of her head became louder. Honestly, she didn't want to talk about it, but she also didn't want to keep Homura out of the loop; she had a new understanding of what that felt like. "You know...that Sakura girl offered to train me."

For the most part, Homura wasn't completely pretending when she looked at Sayaka with a surprised expression, though for different reasons than Sayaka would think. "What? She did?" She hadn't expected her to offer so quickly; they had only made the deal yesterday after all. A feeling of dread came quickly, worry that Kyouko had given away the deal. But Sayaka didn't look angry at her, in fact she didn't look too upset at all.

"Yeah, came up to me last night while I was on my hunt, made it sound like I couldn't handle myself," Sayaka grumbled, the bitterness was starting to come and this was starting to ruin her good mood already. That wasn't what she wanted, and she tried to force the annoyance away, but once it started brewing, it had been getting harder to-

"I," Homura began, pausing to look down, trying to find her words, "I think you should take her up on her offer."

"What?!"

At Sayaka's yell and incredulous stare, Homura flinched slightly. "I just, well she's been a magical girl a lot longer, don't you think it would be beneficial if you learn something from her? It's better than being her enemy, right?" she offered, hoping Sayaka would agree. "That way you don't get hurt fighting her, and you'll be better at fighting, not that you're bad at it or anything but, you can always get better, and if you have to fight for your life, you _have_ to get better!"

It was a simple truth, "the better you fight, the less likely you'll die," but Sayaka still had a problem with working with Kyouko. Even if she did agree, it was going to be a rather short partnership as she could easily see them killing each other, or at least trying to.

Homura must have caught the expression on Sayaka's face and gave a small, but understanding, smile to her. "I really think this could be a good opportunity for you, but just think about it, please? For me?" she asked.

Sayaka wanted to groan in exasperation. There was no way she could honestly say no to this girl, not when clearly wanted her to do this. "Fine, fine, I'll think about it," Sayaka muttered in defeat and shot Homura a glare, "no promises though."

"You'll think about what?"

Both Homura and Sayaka jumped in surprise at the sound of Hitomi's voice, and they turned their heads to watch as she and Kyosuke approached. Both were smiling, though Hitomi had a curious look on her face, wondering what the two were talking about before she arrived.

"Ah, well," Sayaka began, not sure what to say, as she watched Hitomi and Kyosuke take their seats beside her and Hitomi.

Thankfully Homura came to the rescue. "I'm trying to get Sayaka to get along with a new friend of mine, the two don't really like each other," she explained, opening her lunch. It wasn't a complete lie, and it sounded believable enough that Hitomi was nodding her head.

"Well, I do hope you two can become friends," she said to Sayaka, and with that out of the way, the group was able to shift into other topics, filling the air with short stories and jokes as they chatted and ate.

Sayaka had probably said this before, and she would say it as many times as she had to, but this was what she loved. She loved being able to sit up here with her friends, laugh and joke with them without a care in the world. To be able to forget about everything else for a little while, to feel normal and to feel happy with those who cared about her. She would always cherish these happy moments with the friends she had come too close to losing.

Eventually, the topic of their conversation was shifted to Kyosuke, and rather stories of what he did while hospitalized, while the girls shared laughs at his expense or glares at him for his hostile behavior back then.

"You know, when we were in Kazamino I would call him and update him on the trip and let him know what's going on every night. Kyosuke would get so mad that by the end he was yelling at me on the phone for it," Hitomi said, muffling a laugh as Kyosuke looked away, embarrassed and ashamed, though it made Sayaka glad to know Hitomi had a glimpse of what Sayaka had met head-on. "He truly did become rather temperamental while in there."

That was an understatement, he was downright wrathful, and Sayaka could remember how his words had cut her like a knife.

"I said I was sorry," he whined, ducking his head down apologetically before looking straight at Sayaka, "and I know it's been a while, but I'm still sorry for yelling at you too. You two had been so kind to me and all I did was lash out. I should have apologized sooner." At least he felt sorry for what he had said to them, and it felt nice to receive an apology after so long. "I'm, well, I'm honestly surprised you two decided to remain with me after that, most would have just walked and ditched me after all the things I said to you two."

If he had been anyone else, Sayaka would have stopped talking to him after his stint. But a part of her could understand why he had been so upset and lashed out. Didn't make it okay though, and knowing that he'd lashed out at Hitomi as well was as much of an annoyance as it was a relief.

"Sometimes hospitals are places where there's good news...and sometimes they aren't. You'd be surprised by how many angry people are in the hospital, so don't worry about being the only one who lashed out at the world while you were on the bed," Homura offered.

That earned a small smile from him, and also seemed to remind him of something as his face brightened up after she spoke. "That's right, and you guys know how I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, right?" he asked, earning a few nods from the girls. "Well, my doctor said that if I don't agitate my recovery at all, there's a chance that I'll be able to play the violin again."

It was like a light was shining from him as he said that, and the ones around him could only stare incredulously at his announcement.

"No way, you'll be able to play again?" Sayaka said after staring at him with her mouth agape for a few moments. "That, I thought they said it was permanent? That's just amazing!"

Hitomi was nodding quickly, hands over her mouth, so happy for him that tears were actually forming.

Nodding proudly, Kyosuke's smile only grew. "It's not a _good_ chance, and I'll have to be careful. There's a lot of 'maybes' in this too, and it'll take a while, it won't happen within the year that's for sure. But if there's even a chance I'll be able to play, I just, I..." He seemed at a loss for words to describe just how great this made him feel, and instead turned to Homura. "Looks like you might not be the only one with a miraculous recovery."

"Seems not, I hope that yours goes well," Homura said, nodding her head with a smile of her own.

As the group continued to congratulate Kyosuke on the future recovery, Sayaka couldn't help but think of what would have happened if she had made her wish to help him instead of Homura. He would have been able to play his violin without waiting for a year for a snowball's chance.

But no, there was no sense going back to that now, she had been given something to hope for and she was going to embrace it. She was glad she healed Homura with her wish instead of him. He would have recovered either way, and he was still happy; it would have been a waste to wish to speed up his own recovery.

Conversation between the four continued on, shifting from one subject to the other with a natural grace and ease as they laughed and teased. Bits of food were shared and stolen among them, and before they knew it, it was time to head back to their classes.

"I hope you two have fun at the movies tonight," Hitomi said as she collected her and Kyosuke's bags while the former violinist fumbled to stand up with his crutches.

Grinning, Sayaka nodded. "Thanks, you guys have fun today too," she said as she and Homura headed off to the stairs and the pairs went their separate ways.

* * *

After several more hours of class that had sped by just as quickly, the end of the school day was approaching and Sayaka was happily bounding over to Homura's desk. They still had a couple of hours to kill before the movie started, so they could hit someplace up to grab a snack while waiting. Or maybe go to the arcade and hang out. It didn't matter to Sayaka where they went so long as she and Homura had fun, and she was practically hopping about already.

"Are you ready to go?" Sayaka asked as Homura began packing her bags, smile wide as can be. All the excitement that she'd been keeping under control all day was bubbling up and ready to burst forth now that school was out.

But all Homura did was give her an apologetic look and Sayaka felt her excitement drain into dread. Homura must have noticed the change in her expression and quickly tried to ease the worry. "It's nothing bad, I promise. It's just that Nakazawa asked to talk to me after school, so I'll be running a little late. We can meet up at the gates after I'm done or I can give you a call and we'll meet up somewhere? I'm not canceling our plans, nothing like that," she said, and it took all Sayaka had to keep her smile from falling.

"Oh," Sayaka responded, she wasn't sure what else to respond with, and after a few moments of thinking she shook her head. "Nah, just give me a call when you're done."

Though she was trying to play it cool, at hearing that Nakazawa wanted to talk to Homura her mind could only go to all sorts of assumptions, and she didn't particularly like the most obvious one, which stuck out thanks to her talk with Kyosuke the other day.

"Alright, I'll see you later," Homura said, picking up her bag and making her way out of the classroom.

With a scowl, Sayaka glared at Nakazawa's empty desk, imagining the boy there. He wasn't a bad kid by any means, Sayaka knew that. He'd been on friendly terms with Homura since day one, being one of the few that she talked to in the beginning. Nice and smart, if not a little easily flustered even if that was maybe thanks to their homeroom teacher - or was he already like that and that was why she kept calling on him during her rants... - and certainly not bad to look at.

...Whatever.

This was wrong, and Homura would not like what she was going to do, and if things went the way she feared then Sayaka was not going to like what she saw. But she needed to know what was going to happen to prove her fears wrong.

Grabbing her bag, Sayaka left the classroom and went on her hunt for Nakazawa and Homura.

There were thankfully few places to check, knowing Nakazawa would want somewhere more private if it was important. That narrowed down the locations pretty well, so Sayaka went through the rooms inside first, which was only the library and its private side rooms. But nope, they weren't there and the librarian hadn't seen them. A minute later and, nope, the roof was clear too.

But she was not deterred from her search as she made her way out the school doors, slowing her pace just enough to not garner any attention as she began searching the school grounds. In the back of her mind, a voice was telling her to stop and let it go. It was just a talk they needed and nothing to be worried about, no need to go. But Sayaka did her best to ignore it; she didn't have the best track record with her friends as of late after all and she couldn't help the painful paranoia.

Not too long after, Sayaka found them around the back of the school.

Sayaka was quiet as she leaned against one of the trees that were scattered along the property, staying as out of sight as she could while watching as Nakazawa and Homura sat at the bench and talked, and though she was too far away to hear what they said, it didn't matter as she could get a good enough idea of what was being said as she watched the two interact. This was giving her flashbacks to when she had spotted Kyosuke and Hitomi and learned about them being together.

She could see Homura smiling, covering her mouth to hide it in vain...was she _laughing_? Her shoulders were shaking so she must have been. Nakazawa must have said something funny, he always did have a good sense of humor. Sayaka was never around him much and barely paid him any attention outside of class, but she knew that he and Homura got along well enough. But how did this happen? Had they been closer than she had realized?

Yesterday and what Kyosuke had said came to mind once again, and then she remembered all the sidelong looks Nakazawa had given Homura the past few weeks. Actually, even before her return from the hospital he always seemed to be looking at her. She'd always brushed it off, never noting it as worth mentioning but...

This was what Kyosuke was talking about, wasn't it? He was friends with Nakazawa so he would have known...

Watching from an outsider's point of view, the relaxed and friendly air around them was clear. There was no awkwardness, there was no tension. It was at ease, it was happy, _they_ were happy. They were; Sayaka wasn't. It made her tense and angry knowing that Nakazawa was going to confess his feelings to Homura here, or had he already? From the way the two were acting, it wouldn't be surprising if he already had. After all, wasn't one supposed to be a nervous and flustered mess when trying to confess, and the calm came after?

Hands clenched into fists, and nails dug into her palms, just a bit more pressure was needed to break the skin.

This was just like Madoka and Mami. This was just like Kyosuke and Hitomi. Yet again Sayaka was going to lose someone she cared deeply for to another.

Why her? Why did this keep happening to her? Did God just not want Sayaka to be happy, did He not want her to have the ones she cares about at her side? Was that why He kept having others take them away from her?

Her teeth ground together as she watched Nakazawa take one of Homura's hands, clasping it between both of his. This was the moment of truth, wasn't it? Kyosuke had warned her about this, and now it was happening right before her eyes.

There was something dark bubbling up inside of her, something horrible wanting to burst and break out, something alien yet familiar.

Taking a deep breath, Sayaka turned around, unable to let herself watch the scene any longer. Tears stung at her eyes, tears of anger, tears of sorrow, tears from a heart being broken for the third time. A cry wanted to escape her lips, her hands wanted to tear something apart. Maybe she could find a witch, maybe she could find a familiar, maybe she could find Kyouko.

She needed to find anyone or anything in the wrong place at the wrong time to vent on.

* * *

It had only been a short while after talking with Nakazawa that Homura had returned to her apartment. She had a small smile on her face that she couldn't remove. She had never been confessed to before, not long ago she wouldn't have even considered it, and it was a startling experience, one that she didn't know how to react to. Awkward for both once he had stopped the jokes and told her what was up, and while it was flattering, Homura couldn't accept his feelings. But she was glad that despite the rejection, Nakazawa had been respectful of it, accepting that she didn't like him that way and that they could remain friends.

He was a good person, and perhaps if her heart didn't already belong to another, she could have given him a chance.

She knew that her answer had hurt him, but he had given her a smile, telling her that it was okay. He understood when she told him she was in love with someone else and had even wished her luck in her own attempts.

It was sweet of him, and very much appreciated. She was confident he'd find some girl he'd be happy with, but it couldn't be her...and she chuckled a little at thinking of all the relationship "advice" their homeroom teacher had given them.

"You're finally back," Kyouko called out from the living room when Homura closed the door, nearly sending her into a fright-induced heart attack.

Putting her bag down and slipping off her shoes, Homura hurried to the next room where the red-haired magical girl was sprawled across the couch, Ganko sleeping on her stomach while one hand held the remote, the other digging into a bag of potato chips. Homura could only breathe in deeply to hold back irritation at the mess of crumbs over the area. If Kyouko was going to come over, couldn't she at least keep it clean?

"How...how did you even get in my house?" Homura asked. Her door had been locked and her windows only opened from the inside.

But Kyouko turned to look at her, giving her a smile that would make the Cheshire Cat proud as she gave her answer, "Would you believe magic?" And then the girl went back to channel surfing.

Believable enough. Homura didn't know the full extent of Kyouko's magic, in fact she barely knew anything about how magical girls did their thing, so it was completely possible that Kyouko could have used magic to get in too. Then again, it was just as possible that she knew how to pick a lock and had locked the door again when she got into the apartment. The "how" part of the question wasn't too important, was it? Just so long as her uninvited guest didn't steal anything.

What mattered more was the feeling Homura was getting that coming home to find that Kyouko had broken in and was eating all her food was going to be a regular occurrence.

With a sigh, Homura shook her head and set about picking up the trash left around her guest. She should set up rules for Kyouko when the girl visited, but she had a feeling that even if she spent the time to make rules and explain them to her, Kyouko wouldn't bother to follow them.

She wasn't going to complain though, no, Homura would bite her tongue about any annoyances she had with Kyouko. After all, Kyouko had agreed to not only share the city and not kill or kick Sayaka out, something she could easily do with their differences in power and experience, but also agreed to train her, and it looked like Kyouko making Homura's place a second home might be part of the fine print. Well, "agreed" wasn't right, Homura was paying her to do so after all. Not that Sayaka needed to know _that_ little tidbit. She also hoped that Sayaka didn't happen to come over on one of the times that Kyouko broke into her home. Now that would be an awkward and tense scene.

Speaking of Sayaka.

"Have you seen Sayaka?" Homura asked after she disposed of all the wrappers into the trash. She had tried calling her after talking with Nakazawa, but her friend had never answered. She at first assumed that Sayaka was out on a witch hunt or had sought out Kyouko to give her answer on the proposition, but she doubted that Kyouko would be bumming out on her couch if the latter had happened.

Kyouko hadn't moved as she spoke, either too comfortable sprawled on the couch or not wanting to disturb the sleeping kitten using her as a bed. "Haven't seen her since yesterday. Why? She ditch you or something for some boy?" Homura could practically feel the snarky smile on her face after she said that.

"She's probably at home," Homura decided, ignoring Kyouko's own question as she glanced at her phone. Sayaka hadn't responded to any of her texts yet, it wasn't like her at all and it had Homura rather worried.

She probably left her phone off, or it died. At least, that's what Homura tried reasoning with herself, trying to keep her mind off the possibility that Sayaka could be hurt. It wasn't really a scenario she wanted to think about. But the more she thought about it, Sayaka charged her phone every night so it wouldn't have died, and she wasn't one to ignore texts from Homura unless something was wrong. The more she tried to ignore it, the stronger the feeling that something was indeed wrong became.

"I'm going to head over there to see if she's in. When you head out, if you head out, remember to lock the door." Simple enough instructions that she hoped were remembered as Homura herself went out the door.

The sun was still up and bright, and as Homura made her way down the familiar route from her home to Sayaka's, doubt began gnawing inside of her. She had a sinking feeling that when she got to the door, Sayaka's mother would tell her that the girl was not there. She had a terrible, _terrible_ feeling that where Sayaka was was inside of a labyrinth and in danger.

The farther she got from her own home, the stronger the dread became. As though she had a sixth sense for danger, or maybe she was just overly worrying for Sayaka. After all, Sayaka was a big girl, she could take care of herself, right?

It was times like this that Homura would have been glad to have Kyubey was around. For all her mistrust and discomfort around the wish-granting cat thing, he always had a knack for knowing what was going on and where. He could easily tell her where Sayaka was and what condition she was in.

But to be honest, Homura had seen neither heads nor tails of him since he led her to Sayaka and Kyouko's fight the other day.

Still, being able to quickly and easily find Sayaka would have been appreciated. Even if Sayaka was alright, Homura would have loved to be able to find her and confirm it for herself...and maybe scold her a little for getting Homura so worried in the first place.

It felt like a wild goose chase, Homura didn't even know where to start looking and none of the regular places she and Sayaka hung out held home to the blue-haired middle-schooler. She'd even checked at her apartment, but Sayaka's mom said Sayaka hadn't been back yet and Homura had to quickly lie to make sure that the woman didn't get worried either. A few hours had passed, a few texts from Kyouko asking how everything was going, and by the time Homura had reached the train station, her legs were sore and tired from all the walking and running.

But that's where she found her.

Sitting at one of the benches on the far side of the area was Sayaka, hunched over and glaring at the ground. Or staring into space; she didn't look all there.

Homura couldn't help the fuzzy and warm feeling of relief that blossomed in her chest and coursed through her body. Smiling a tired but victorious smile, Homura slowly approached her, assessing for any damage Sayaka might have as she drew closer.

"Sayaka?"

The girl perked up, glancing at Homura for a moment before returning to her staring match with the floor.

Well, that wasn't the reaction Homura expected or wanted and her smile dropped down into a frown. "Sayaka, are you okay?" she tried again, taking a seat next to her friend.

"Just peachy," was the angry and sarcastic remark.

Homura glared at her for a moment, the sarcasm not appreciated, but let it soften back into worry. "No, you're not. Sayaka, what's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked. If she knew what was upsetting Sayaka, she would have some idea of how to make her feel better.

But Sayaka said nothing, still glaring at the ground.

So Homura said nothing either, just sat there next to her, staring up at the ceiling as she waited. That's all she needed after all, wait and Sayaka would tell her what was bothering her soon enough. She was patient and could wait however long it took for Sayaka to tell her what happened.

Thankfully, it didn't take long at all, as was typical for Sayaka.

"Shouldn't you be with Nakazawa?" she asked, though it sounded more like a demand.

Homura could only stare at her in confusion. All this because she agreed to talk with him? That couldn't be what was upsetting Sayaka, at least not the full reason. "We finished up quickly, why?"

But Sayaka refused to look at her, frozen in place with an air of gloom about her like some kind of gargoyle. "He's not bad looking, he's a nice guy, and I know he confessed to you," she grumbled, and it was becoming more clear just how upset she was over this, "so shouldn't you be with him? You guys would make a cute couple." That last bit was said bitterly, as though she couldn't make it any clearer how much she hated that idea.

Once again all Homura could do was stare, her confusion growing. Had Sayaka seen them talking and she just guessed accurately or had someone told her? Either way, why was Sayaka even upset over it, it wasn't as though Homura had said yes.

...Ohhh.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, the answer sprang up and Homura's confusion shifted to happy, hopeful, surprise. "Sayaka, are you _jealous_?" she asked, her concern fading away to teasing now that she understood why Sayaka was upset over it.

"Of course I'm not!" Sayaka responded with a shout, glaring at the paved ground below even harder, but her cheeks were now dusted with pink, which only helped prove Homura right.

In hindsight, it must have been obvious why Sayaka would be jealous, and Homura could barely suppress her laughter. No, she shouldn't be laughing right now, but she couldn't help it. Even if her friend was now glaring at her for it.

"Sayaka, Nakazawa _did_ confess to me," she said, calming down her laughter, and before Sayaka could say or do anything, she hastily continued, "but I turned him down."

That got her attention, and it was Sayaka's turn to stare at her in a mixture of confusion and surprise. "What? You turned him down? But why?" she asked, and it was clear that she had honestly not expected Homura to reject him.

"Well," Homura began, and now her cheeks were turning pink, "I told him that I liked someone else already, and he said that he understood."

Sayaka's budding good spirits were again crushed to hear that, and she slumped back against her seat. "Oh, well..." she mumbled, not sure what else to say. But, no, this was Homura, so if she had someone she already liked, Sayaka _had_ to be supportive...even if it hurt, she had to push away the bitterness she still felt. "He must be a complete idiot if he hasn't made a move yet."

"She is kind of an idiot now and then," Homura responded, watching Sayaka perk up in confusion and interest and, dare she say, hope at Homura's correction of gender. No turning back now. She leaned back and looked up at the ceiling as if she were musing on her thoughts. Her own heart was a pounding drum in her chest as she continued to talk; it was so tricky to do this and act like it was nothing that should be surprising. "And it's actually really adorable. But, apart from that, it's kind of hard for me not to love her. She's been there for me since the beginning, and I've tried to be there for her too. She's strong, she's brave, yet she's had her weak moments too."

"Homura," Sayaka interjected, her expression showed that she didn't _quite_ get who Homura was referring to, but it was slowly dawning on her, or maybe it would be more accurate to say she was slowly processing who it was Homura was talking about.

"She's been the greatest friend I've ever had when I needed one most," Homura continued and turned to look at her with a smile, "and lastly, we already have a wonderful family together: her, me and our baby Ganko. We're co-moms after all; she refused to let me be a single parent, so she's not allowed to back out now."

That finally turned on a light bulb in Sayaka's head as she stared at her with wide eyes. "Homura?" she asked.

Wrapping her arms around Sayaka and pulling her into a hug, Homura just smiled and gave a laugh. "I-I'm in love with _you_ , you big dummy," she said, feeling Sayaka return the hug tightly, "so stop worrying. I'm not going to leave you just because someone else asks me out, my feelings for you are for aren't flimsy like that."

Sayaka just held her tighter, burying her face in the crook of Homura's neck. There was a light dampness forming as Sayaka must have begun to cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot," she said, though it was somewhat muffled. When she pulled away, still holding onto Homura, the expression she had was the happiest Homura had seen in a long time. "I-I'm...I...I love you too, and I'm such an idiot for not realizing that sooner." Wow, she'd called herself that plenty of times the last month or two, but now it felt like it actually fit. After all by now _everyone_ must have known how she felt before she even did,

Homura just smiled, pulling her back in the warm embrace. "Didn't you hear me? You've _always_ been an idiot, Sayaka. But that's part of your charm."

"You bet it is!" Sayaka laughed, though her voice was shaken by the crying. Finally, for once in oh so long, everything was going right it seemed.


	20. Fluffy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy, consider this a belayed Valentines Day chapter.

By now, the sun had fully set and night had fallen. Though it was still early into the night, some time had passed since the confession at the train station - but could it even be called a confession when it felt more like the two finally acknowledging their feelings rather than a declaration? - though it had passed so quickly neither noticed the time ticking by.

Sayaka had called her parents shortly after she could think clearly again, telling them that she was with Homura and wouldn't be home for dinner as well as apologizing for not calling earlier. She had been pressed to do so by Homura, the latter not wanting Sayaka to bring any worry to her parents with her prolonged and unexplained absence. While she did so, unbeknownst to her was that it was also an excuse to divert her attention; Homura had also shot a quick text off to Kyouko, telling her that everything was alright and that Sayaka had been found while the other girl made her call, which in turn was answered with a short _"_ _Cool."_ followed by another _"I fed the cat while you were out."_

In its own right the uncaring tone was understandable: Kyouko had no personal reason to care for Sayaka's well-being, and the fact that she would not be paid if there was no Sayaka to train made this just a business relationship. Still, Homura felt she ought to at least tell her that everything had gone okay. Though, now that she thought about it, where had Kyouko even gotten a phone? She probably shouldn't ask.

There was an ease between the two as they walked down the streets with an attitude that made it seem as though they owned the whole world. Perhaps "ease" was not the best word; there was an energy that bubbled between them. It wasn't just a warm glow either, it burned brightly and hotly with passion, yet the fire was contained by the undertone of natural anxiety and nervousness that had not yet been able to break free to the surface. All in all, they were still basking in the high that this step they took brought them under. After all, they were just two middle school girls in love, and love was a powerful thing.

Especially when it was one's first love, and another's first love requited.

"The movie must be almost halfway through by now...sorry I made us miss it," Sayaka said as the two came to a stop in their stroll to sit at one of the benches posted around the city. She had overreacted to Nakazawa confessing to Homura, had assumed that it would mean she would lose Homura and as such acted out bitterly. _Like a spoiled child,_ she noted...she felt guilty and embarrassed over it. She should have acted mature and not have jumped to conclusions, shouldn't have let jealousy and bitterness take over and run off to do God knows what.

When Homura had found her, in all honesty Sayaka didn't even know what she was doing. Sulking and simmering in anger, but she had no way to let that anger out, or rather nothing to let it out on. It was another dead night with witches - though she remembered Kyubey saying that those wouldn't last much longer - so there were no monstrosities to lash out on like she did so often. There weren't many people out tonight, either...maybe for the better with how easily she could have been set off. So it had left the awful feelings she had been filled with to claw at her from the inside, trying to force its way to the surface.

It left only a few other options to relieve the storm of emotions she felt, and none of them would have been well looked upon. Now that her head wasn't filled with such dark thoughts, wasn't clouded over by a haze of anger and jealousy, Sayaka didn't want to think of what would have happened if Homura hadn't been the one to find her in there.

"No, no it's fine! We can always see another," Homura was quick to respond, shaking her head to emphasize the "no"s. "Really, it's no big deal. Besides...I'm kind of glad we did this instead. I mean not the whole thing but the, you know, talk," she admitted, a pink blush coming to her cheeks as she looked down at her feet, a small smile forming. "I mean, if today had gone as we had planned it to, and we went to the movies like we had planned to, would we have even had...would we even be...you know?" It seemed she was a little too shy to actually say it and the blush only grew brighter.

A part of Sayaka wanted to laugh and agree, but it had brought a good question to the front of her mind, and she turned to look at Homura with a rather serious expression. "Actually...what _are_ we?" she asked her. They had both confessed their feelings for each other, but did that automatically mean they were dating? Sayaka wasn't too sure, this was new territory for her, and she was sure it was the same for Homura. Besides, they never actually _said_ if they were going to date; was it just an unspoken thing or was she jumping to conclusions? She was overthinking things again, but still a dreaded sense of paranoia washed over her. "Are we dating? Are we...are we g-girlfriends?" Now her own face had taken on a shade of red as she stumbled over the term.

The ease they had felt had finally been broken, an uncomfortable and awkward air settling over them.

"I guess...I, I mean-" Homura faltered for a second, taking a moment to breathe in and to try and collect her own words, "I...I won't mind if we were...and I don't think you would mind either?"

"Of course I wouldn't mind!"

After Sayaka's quick and somewhat loud response, they both went silent for a short while as they looked away from each other, each waiting for the other to say something so she wouldn't have to break the silence herself, neither even sure _what_ to say after that.

This was ridiculous.

After a minute or two, Sayaka brought her hands to her face, hiding beneath them as she rubbed at her burning cheeks. Taking a breath to steady herself like Homura had not long ago, she turned back to her companion. It was better to be direct about it rather than stumble around like a bumbling idiot, right? "Homura? Would you be my girlfriend?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady as she asked. Hopefully she wasn't blushing _too_ badly...nope, her face felt like it was on fire.

But Homura was looking at her, and she could see the girl fumble for what to say. However, soon enough a smile came back. Neither small or big, just relieved and genuinely happy. "I would, I'd love to."

It was Sayaka's turn to smile, and hers _was_ a big one, and she quickly pulled Homura over for a tight hug as she began laughing at the relief she felt. Not missing a beat, Homura wrapped her own arms around Sayaka in return, Sayaka's own laughter so infectious it drew her in as well. They must have looked like complete dorks to everyone else, having already confirmed their love for each other earlier and just now fumbling over whether they were officially a thing or not. But Sayaka didn't care, she was glad to be confirming it, confirming that she and Homura were together. It felt more certain, felt more real, as though she hadn't just imagined the confessions at the train station.

"Girlfriends, I can't believe it," Sayaka said as she puled back, still holding onto the smaller girl. "This just feels like, just like 'finally,' you know? Like it's about time we finally took the step and did, well, this."

She could hear Kyouko laughing already. She knew she was going to get a few remarks once the girl caught wind, but she honestly didn't care.

Homura shook her head, and Sayaka had never seen such a beautiful smile before. "Just wait 'til the others hear about this," she said, and Sayaka could only laugh more, already hearing Kyosuke and Hitomi telling them that it was about time.

It was a beautiful night out, Sayaka noticed as she tilted her head up to glance above. Even through the background light of the city, the stars seemed to be shining a little brighter, and the sky was as clear as could be. It was relaxing; romantic, even. Smiling, Sayaka shifted so that she could lean back and watch the sky, one arm still wrapped around Homura to hold her close as she tried to locate and recognize the constellations that shone above.

Homura just leaned against her, also watching the sky, and mumbled something to Sayaka about how they just needed the cliche shooting star right now to finish the picture.

The night air had cooled, but wasn't cold, and staying pressed against each other had certainly done well to keep them both warm. Right here, right now watching the stars above with Homura in her arms, Sayaka was the happiest she had ever been in a while. She didn't want to let go.

"You know," she said after a while, still looking at the stars but feeling Homura move slightly against her, "I think...I think I'm going to take her up on her offer."

That got Homura's attention and she squirmed around so she could look at Sayaka instead of the sky. "Huh? What do you mean?" she asked, not quite understanding but having the inkling to what Sayaka meant.

Her first response was a small smile as Sayaka looked down at her, followed by, "I think I'll take that Sakura girl on her offer to train me. I mean, she's right, I'm still just a novice, I don't actually know how to fight apart from swing a sword and dodge attacks," before she looked back up at the sky, holding Homura closer to herself, "and well...if I want to keep what I care about safe...I need to know _how_ to, right?" She could remember what Kyouko had said to her the other night clearly.

She was right: Sayaka's style of just going insane hack-and-slash when she fought wasn't going to last her long. It was her just blocking out everything and unleashing anger on whatever thing she was fighting, it was frenzied and it never mattered how hurt she got in the end. A severe overuse of her magic, and she might end up dead - she didn't want Homura to have to deal with someone she cared for dying, it wasn't a pleasant feeling, she would know - and there wasn't much she could do when dead.

"I'm glad you're going to, I'm sure that she isn't all that bad when you get to know her."

"You're saying it like you actually know and talk to her," Sayaka said, giving her a light knock on the arm and a laugh. Not like Homura actually was in contact with Kyouko, that was just ridiculous, they had no reason to chat with each other. "I mean, not as bad? The girl's the worst, I don't see how she can be any better."

Homura just gave an awkward laugh that went unnoticed. "Well, I mean, I did talk to her back in Kazamino and, well, she seemed nice back there."

"Well, I'd hope she was nice to you back then, else she's gonna have some answering to do."

"Sayaka..."

"What?"

"You don't need to go as far as to fight someone just because they weren't nice to me," Homura said with a sigh. "Isn't that going a bit far?"

Sayaka gave cheeky smile. "Hey now, someone's got to defend your honor, so it might as well be me," she said, and then quickly added a bit quieter, "besides, any excuse to fight her would be a good one, right?"

The other girl had to resist the need to sigh a second time at that. "What am I going to do with you," she asked, looking up at the sky as though the stars would give her an answer.

An arm quickly reached to wrap around Homura's shoulder and pull her close. "Weeell," Sayaka drew out with a contemplative expression and nodding her head a few times to herself, "kissing me might be a good start, you know?" and she then puckered her lips in an overly comedic way, humming "mmmm" as she inched closer to Homura.

With a laugh, Homura pushed her away. "I'm not kissing you when you're making a fish face."

"Come on, the fish face is good!"

The two continued on like that, joking and laughing, feeling the tension wash away once more just as quickly as it had come. It wasn't that different than what they normally did to make each other laugh, like they already had a good idea of how to be girlfriends and they just finally thought to try.

Time continued to tick by, neither girl keeping track of it, neither girl caring enough to keep track of it, too preoccupied with each other as they talked, fingers intertwined and leaning against each other as they stared up at the sky, watching the stars twinkle above, the moon shining bright like a spotlight and they were center stage.

Now both of them were hoping to see shooting stars so the cliche would be complete.

"Hey, Homura," Sayaka said, leaning towards her and resting her head on her shoulder, cheek against Homura's, "mind if I spend the night at your place tonight?"

Her breath tickled against Homura's skin, and her hand continued to hold Homura's even as she shifted position to be more comfortable against her. "Well, I don't see why not. You want to stop by your place to get some clothes? Or do you want to go wear mine again tonight?"

"Nah, let's just go straight to your place," she said, shaking her head. "It's closer, though really I should just leave a bunch of my clothes at your house. That way I'll always have clothes to wear if I want to spend the night."

"I'm not doing your laundry so you'll have to wash them yourself."

"Fair enough," Sayaka said, lips pressed against her cheek. "Should we get going? I'm getting kind of hungry to be honest, and sleepy too." This day had been exhausting, and it served to remind her she hadn't eaten anything since lunch. Her stomach rumbled in agreement, and she gave a laugh, patting it as though to silence it as she got up. "Besides we still got school tomorrow, and I don't know about you, but I still have homework."

Homura groaned as she stood up as well. "Don't remind me," she grumbled, "let's just head back to my place. Get some food, get our work done, I don't want to stay up 'til midnight working on math."

"Ditto!"

* * *

Homura had forgotten as they chatted that Kyouko may still be at her apartment, the thought not striking her until she had begun to unlock the door. Sayaka noticed her worry but Homura did her best to assure her that nothing was wrong as she prayed that the redhead was not still in.

Thankfully, when she stepped in, the coast was clear. Kyouko was gone, perhaps on a hunt, and the only one inside with them was Ganko.

It stayed that way for the next couple of hours after the girls ate some quick leftovers and went to work. There were no impromptu visits from Kyouko the freeloader and Homura had been quick to relax when she and Sayaka began talking again.

Eventually Ganko found her way to Sayaka's lap, curling up and sleeping as the girl worked furiously at her history assignment. She blinked at the new weight and smiled at the kitten, scratching her behind the ear before going back to her work with new energy.

The two got the assignments done in record time, though it was still much later than either would have liked it to be, so they just powered through it and simply chalked it up to how the day had gone.

Tired and changed into pajamas, the girls collapsed onto Homura's bed with one heck of a day to sleep off.

"I've never been so tired in my life," Sayaka complained as she stretched her arms out above her, stifling a yawn, "wake me up in a few years, I should be good by then, alright?"

Homura just shook her head, lightly hitting her with a pillow before returning it to under her head. "I'll wake you up in time for school, not in a few years," she responded, "I'd be lonely. Besides, I'm pretty sure the princess is the one who sleeps for years."

"Are you saying I'm not princess material?"

"Yes." At Sayaka's hurt expression, as if silently asking her if she were serious, Homura shook her head and snuggled deeper into her pillow, ready to fall asleep herself, yawning loudly to emphasize that point. "You're just...you're more of a prince or a knight. You're the one saving the princesses, not the one locked in the tower waiting to be saved. That suits you better."

At hearing that, Sayaka smiled as she closed her eyes. "Well," she said, pulling the blankets up to her chin, "I guess that makes you my princess then."

Even in the dark of night, even though they were both on the brink of sleep, Homura still blushed lightly at the statement, turning her head to look away as the sheets rustled around her. "Oh shush," the raven-haired girl muttered, "we only just became girlfriends and you're already trying to give me a lovey-dovey name like 'princess.'"

"Eh. Just saying it as it is."

Both girls fell silent after that, letting sleep wash over them and the gentle waves take them each into their own bubbling dreams. Everything was calm, everything was relaxed, both girls being sung a lullaby made up of the gentle noises of the night as they lay together in bed.

It was hard to tell how much time was passing when in a state between slumber and consciousness, but after a while, Sayaka spoke through the peaceful night. "Hey...Homura," she asked softly, pushing herself up slightly, "are you still awake?"

"Mhm..." was the response she got as Homura turned over to face her, cracking an eye open. "What's wrong?" she asked with a yawn.

Sayaka gave a sheepish smile, suddenly feeling as though what she had intended to ask was not a good thing at all. Not all ideas a half-asleep brain came up with were genius after all. "Well, there was something I forgot to do," she admitted.

Now Homura pushed herself up so that she propped her head up on her arm. "What'd you forget," she asked, then frowned, rubbing away at her eye, "and why did you need to wake me for it? You know where the bathroom is."

"Because, well, it involves you."

Homura frowned some more. "What was it?"

A soft "well" was the only warning Homura got before Sayaka leaned in close and pressed her lips against hers.

There was a tingle of electricity that rushed through the bodies of both girls as Homura slowly reciprocated the gentle kiss, a hand coming to rest on Sayaka's cheek. _Our second kiss,_ Sayaka thought, recalling the first one they shared in the hospital. This one was different, however, this one was better, this one was marking when everything started to be wonderful, like how the first one was supposed to.

It wasn't the kiss filled with fear and worry like the first, this was a release from those feelings.

After a few seconds had passed, Sayaka pulled away and gave her girlfriend a smile. "I'd forgotten to give you a good night's kiss," she explained to her, slowly lowering herself to lie back down as Homura followed suit. "Good night, Homura," she said.

Nestling back onto the mattress and edging closer to her, Homura smiled and felt a hand take hold of her own under the sheets. "Good night, Sayaka," she returned as their fingers intertwined.


End file.
